


Kitty-cat

by Daovihi



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Agender Character, Alcohol, Animal Transformation, Curses, Denial of Feelings, Eating Disorders, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Gods, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Kitten, M/M, Magic, Minor Violence, Multi, Original Character(s), Other, Possession, Self-Hatred, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Swearing, Trans Character, agender! masc leaning! ior, trans! vr, vr needs a hug and some love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 08:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 42,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9989396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daovihi/pseuds/Daovihi
Summary: Oh no! Iorveth has been turned into a small, harmless kitten! To make matters worse, he has to live with Blue Stripes Commander Vernon Roche himself! Will he ever change back into his old, murderous self, or will he be stuck as an adorable cat forever?





	1. Chapter 1

Today was not a good day for Iorveth.

Ves was restraining him from movement, preventing his escape. On a normal day, Iorveth would be able to escape, but today was hardly normal. Ves kept him in a tight hold, but made sure not to squeeze too hard. She didn't want to hurt the poor creature, after all. Ves made sure that her captive's feet were supported, then made her way back to base.

"What were you doing with an elven terrorist's clothes, anyway?" Ves cooed. Iorveth growled at her. "Ooh, you're a grumpy one, it seems! I bet Vernon would like you a lot."

At hearing his sworn enemy's name, he bit Ves' hand, albeit ineffectually. Despite the sharpened teeth, he could not break the skin.

"Aww, you're so cute! Why would anyone hurt you, kitty?" Ves rubbed the kitten's scarred back. The kitten receded away from the touch. "Oh, you don't like that? I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She put her finger to the cat's nose, and giggled when it nibbled her finger.

Iorveth was trying his hardest to escape from Ves' unyielding grip by flaying the flesh off her bones with his teeth. Unfortunately, he was a kitten, and unaccustomed to his new form at that, so all he managed to do was kill Ves with his cuteness.

"Hey, guys! It's me! I have a kitten!" Ves called out to the soldiers that came into view.

The soldiers saw her and allowed her into their base, which Iorveth didn't notice until he was inside. He was still trying to brutally murder Ves. Iorveth looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was apparently in a cave with Blue Stripes decor. All of a sudden, Dhoines swarmed him, trying to touch him. Iorveth bit a hand that ventured near him. It seemed everyone wanted to pet him.

"Ow! That's one mean kitten!" The dhoine that got bit remarked.

"It's no wonder. Look at how many scars he's got." Another commented.

"Guys, back away. He might get scared by all the people." Ves held her free arm out to disperse the soldiers. They moved away, allowing her to pass. Ves confidently strode to a door and knocked on it. "Hey, bro, it's me!"

"What trouble are you planning on getting into this time?" A familiar voice emanated through the door.

"None! I got you a present!" Iorveth yowled at being called a "present."

"Alright, I'm coming. Give me a second." Iorveth heard the sound of papers being moved and shuffled about. It was Vernon Roche who opened the door. Vernon took one look at the kitten in Ves' arms and cooed. "Oh, you're a real soldier, aren't you, kitty?"

Iorveth backed away as far as he could while being held in place. He couldn't fight Roche in this state, he was a ball of fluff, for crying out loud! He clawed at Ves' exposed chest when Vernon touched him, discovering how to extend his claws in the nick of time. He sunk his claws into Ves' skin.

"Ow, ow, OW! Don't frigging do that to me, kitty! I'm sensitive there!" Ves grabbed the cat by the scruff of his neck and dropped him into Vernon's arms. Iorveth froze.

"Hey, kitty. You want some chicken? I have some chicken you can eat." Vernon held the kitten in his arms as he took a seat by a desk, where various papers were scattered about it. A plate with a grilled chicken sandwich sat uneaten on the corner. Vernon shifted the little ball of fur around to hold him in one hand, then he moved the plate towards himself and tore off a piece of chicken. He held it to the cat's mouth.

Iorveth tried to smack the chicken out of Roche's hand with his itty-bitty paw. His pride would not allow him to be fed by his enemy. He huffed and screamed at the food with all his might, resulting in a small, drawn-out mewl.

"You want to eat on the table, kitty? Is that what you want?" Vernon put the cat on the table. The kitten stood on wobbly legs before slumping down with its legs out. "Oh dear…"

Now that Vernon took a good look at the cat, it appeared to be awfully frail. The Snowshoe Meezer, as he believed it was, had scars all over its body, particularly on its back. Its left eye had apparently been gouged out, as was indicated by the C-shaped scar on its face. The kitten was awfully skinny, and its ribs were visiblee where its fur didn't cover. Judging by its size, the kitten appeared to be a month old, meaning if it wasn't weaned already, then it could start being weaned.

Vernon put the piece of chicken in front of the cat, then pondered for a little bit. "Hmm… you need a name…" The cat sniffed the chicken, then decided it was too good for the food and turned its nose. Vernon picked the kitten up to determine its sex, but the kitty hid its privates with its legs. "Aww, you're such a shy kitty-cat." Vernon put the cat back on the table. He tried to pet it, but the cat bit him when his hand drew near. "You're pretty grumpy, especially for a meezer. You kind of remind me of someone I know. Always angry, pointed ears, has this beautiful green eye… You even lost the same eye he did."

Iorveth froze again when he realized Roche was talking about him. This allowed Roche to rub his head. He hissed and withdrew from him.

"Whoa, you don't like pets? I'm not surprised. Someone must have hurt you a lot." Vernon tore some more pieces of chicken from his sandwich and laid it out in front of the cat. The cat hesitantly sniffed the pile of chicken, then ate it up quickly. "There you go, kitty. There you go. Hey, Ves!"

For a few seconds no one responded, then Ves popped her head in. "I was getting a few cat toys. What's up?"

"Need your help naming the cat."

Ves came over and waved a stick with a feather tied to it in front of the kitten. The kitty awkwardly batted at it and tried to bite it. "He bites a lot. Maybe we should name him "Bitey" or "Chompy.""

Vernon took some blank paper and a quill and wrote those names down. "He might become the mascot of the Blue Stripes. We need to give him a charming name."

"Alright, uh, how about "Fluffy?" That's always an option."

"That is the most cliche name in the world. We are not naming it that."

Ves was struck by an idea. "Oh! How about we name him after someone in the Scoia'Tael for irony's sake?"

"We can't exactly name it "Iorveth." People would panic when they hear his name." The cat perked up at hearing his name.

"So let's make his name kitty-related! How about "Feline-Tail" or maybe "Meowveth?"" Ves suggested.

Vernon wrote those names down. "Any other names we should consider?"

"I can't think of any more." Ves shrugged.

"Let's narrow it down." Vernon took the cat toy from Ves and waved it around. "He reminds me a little of Iorveth."

"Iorveth, Iorveth, Iorveth. He's all you ever talk about. You're obsessed with him, I swear."

"Don't ruin my good mood with that again. I'm just saying the kitten is aggressive and doesn't like to be touched. That seems like an Iorveth thing to be."

Ves rolled her eyes. "You just proved my point." She muttered. "So Meowveth instead of Feline-Tail?"

"Yes."

"Alright, now it's my turn. I like the name "Bitey" more than "Chompy." Can't decide between Meowveth and Bitey, though." Ves decided.

"Neither can I. Let's let our soldiers decide between them." Vernon gave the cat toy back to Ves. "You keep an eye on the kitten. I'll consult the others."

\-------

"Any nines?"

"Go fish." The soldier across took a card from the pile.

Another soldier burst in through the door. "Guys, Roche is coming and I think he's pissed!"

Everyone in the room panicked. They tripped over each other, trying to make it look as though they were busy, and not watching an impromptu Go Fish tournament. Tables were flipped, cards were scattered, and someone accidentally set themselves on fire. The soldiers that were playing decided that having a make-out session was the best way to avoid getting in trouble with Roche.

Roche busted the door open with a kick, then slammed it behind him. He scowled as he observed the chaos. If that one couple that was making out broke all the furniture in the room while having sex again, he was going to court marshal them. However, Roche is on a mission. He could deal with the couple later, when he had accomplished his goal.

"Should I name the cat I got Meowveth or Bitey?"

All of the soldiers blinked at him. They were expecting their commander to shout at them, maybe even show them the dreaded Gold Stick of Joy, which had the power to scar grown men for life just from being looked at.

"I said, Meowveth or Bitey?" Vernon repeated.

"Just pick one, guys!" Ves yelled from another room.

The soldiers all voiced their choice at once. Roche couldn't make anything out.

"Those in favor of naming the cat Meowveth, raise your hand." Commanded Roche. Several hands were raised. Roche counted the number of hands raised. "Put your hands down. Those in favor of naming the cat Bitey, raise your hand." Significantly less hands were raised. "It's decided. I'm naming the cat Meowveth."


	2. Chapter 2

 

"You're a rare breed of cat, you know that? Ooh, you're such a rare kitty…" Vernon cooed. He reached forward to pet Meowveth, but Meowveth bit him. "Ow, fuck! Okay, okay! I won't pet you!"

 

Roche got back to work, his chicken sandwich remaining uneaten save for what he fed Meowveth. He gathered his papers towards himself and began writing. There were various important letters he needed to fill out, and he couldn't afford to-

 

"Damn it, cat!" Meowveth knocked over his inkwell and spilled ink all over the thankfully blank papers. Vernon yanked away the letter he was writing before the growing puddle of ink could touch it. He grabbed a towel he kept nearby for such an occasion and tried to wipe up the mess, but Meowveth wanted to create a masterpiece. He wet his paws with ink and danced all over the desk. Vernon grabbed him by the scruff and yanked him up.

 

At this point, Iorveth was terrified. His greatest enemy had grabbed him and lifted him up like he weighed nothing (which due to his new form was close to the truth). Roche looked angry, and Iorveth had no idea what he was going to do to him. It didn't help that since he was now a kitten, his fear response was completely different. He couldn't simply stamp down on his fear anymore. Iorveth felt something warm running down his hind legs.

 

"Damn it, you're urinating everywhere!" Vernon yelled. Suddenly, he realized what the clearly abused kitten must be feeling. "Oh. Oooh, I'm sorry kitty. I'm so sorry I scared you." Vernon thought to pet Meowveth, but decided against it. "You're going to need a bath. Ves!"

 

"Yes?" Ves walked into the room.

 

"Get someone to wash this," Vernon handed her the towel, pinching it between his index and thumb. Ves held it the same way. "And then order someone to get a litter box and some cat litter, along with other cat necessities. When you're done with that, help me bathe Meowveth. Dismissed."

 

\---------

 

Vernon and Ves bathed their kitten in a large bowl they found laying around. Ves was restraining Meowveth, keeping him in the bowl, while Vernon scrubbed him with a piece of soap. Meowveth himself was struggling to break free and climb out of the bath.

 

"Hey, Ves?"

 

"Hmm?"

 

"Where did you find this cat?"

 

"Believe it or not, I found him in Iorveth's clothes. Not on, in. He was apparently hiding in them or something." Ves chuckled a bit at the memory.

 

"What about Iorveth himself?" Vernon pressed further.

 

"Didn't find him. I looked around, but all I found were the clothes and the cat." Ves shrugged.

 

"Why didn't you tell me about that immediately?" Vernon questioned as he rinsed Meowveth's fur of soap.

 

"I was going to report it to you, but I saw Meowveth and I forgot. Sorry." Ves apologized.

 

"Hmm, since you didn't actually see Iorveth and you gave me a cat, I guess I can let this one incident slide. Lift Meowveth up." Vernon ordered. Ves plucked Meowveth out of the bath and let Vernon take a towel and rub him dry. "Since we're practically done here, I want you to escort me to the clothes."

 

\--------

 

Ves approached the area where she last saw traces of Iorveth, with Vernon Roche trailing behind her. Meowveth was perched on Vernon's shoulder.

 

"Why did you want to come with us so badly, anyway? You're such a strange kitten…" Vernon cooed. He held up a finger to Meowveth, who promptly tried to bite it.

 

"Here it is." Ves pointed to some clothes laying on the grass. On closer inspection, Vernon confirmed that it was, indeed, Iorveth's clothes.

 

"Why would his clothes just be laying here? There isn't a body of water nearby." Vernon crouched down to inspect the clothing.

 

The clothes were lying face-down, except for one upright shoe. The clothes were all together, and were arranged exactly as though Iorveth was still wearing them. When Vernon lifted the top of Iorveth's dress and looked inside, he found bandages where Iorveth's chest would be.

 

Iorveth clumsily jumped down from Roche's shoulder and miraculously landed on his feet. He wobbled on his paws, and took a few steps forward, grateful that he had time to adjust to his new form.

 

"Hey, what's Meowveth doing?" Ves pondered aloud.

 

Meowveth ignored the humans. He approached an orb near his glove. The orb was a dull purple, heavily cracked to the point where it looked as though it would break if someone even said a mean word to it. It was a magical item, one that Iorveth knew from experience would curse whoever happened to pick it up. He wasn't worried about what would happen if Roche or Ves touched it, however. It was rendered inert earlier.

 

\---------

 

_Iorveth stomped away, absolutely furious. His squadron had collectively decided to make fun of him for wanting to capture Vernon fucking Roche! He had plenty of good reasons to capture him that did NOT involve having romantic or sexual feelings for him! He couldn't even feel that way towards a human, let alone a human cockroach who just so happens to be his archnemesis!_

 

_Iorveth sat down on the grass and huffed. He couldn't believe the blatant disrespect his squadron had for him. He needed to punish them, once he had cooled off enough to not lash out unnecessarily. Iorveth pulled out his recorder and played an improvised tune that expressed his anger. Near him, a light purple orb gradually formed in the ground, and started humming._

 

_As Iorveth calmed down, his music calmed with him. Thoughts of Roche flowed into Iorveth's mind, and Iorveth played a happy tune on his recorder, one that was appropriate for a love song. The orb in the ground brightened, and hummed louder._

 

_Iorveth stopped playing, and the orb stopped humming. He played a note, and the orb hummed the same note. He played a higher, more drawn-out note, and the orb matched it until Iorveth let go of the note. Iorveth played a note, this time getting up so he could find the source of the humming. He followed the sound to where the orb was. It was shining bright purple now, almost impossible to not notice._

 

_Iorveth put away his recorder and dug around the orb with his foot. He unearthed the strange object, and he put away his recorder. He crouched down and picked it up. Iorveth examined the ball. Other than the weird stuff it was doing, it appeared to be completely ordinary and not magical at all. Iorveth determined that there is no way the orb would be able to curse him._

 

_The orb suddenly darkening was all the warning Iorveth got before an agonizing pulse of magic traveled through his body. He could feel his entire being pulled and toyed with before he felt as though he was being compressed. A whisper flashed through his mind, but at the time he couldn't make it out._

 

_He fell to the ground. The world around him spun, and Iorveth shut his eyes against the nausea that came with it. He tried to push himself up, but his limbs weren't working the way they should have. Iorveth opened his eyes and immediately knew something was wrong. Even with the blurriness in his vision, which wouldn't go away no matter how much he blinked, he could tell that the world was not as it should have been. Everything seemed bigger, and colors were duller. Iorveth lifted his head, which was an unusually difficult task for him. Iorveth looked down at his arms, both of which seemed to be significantly thinner. They also seemed to be different colors from before._

 

_Iorveth's vision cleared, and he could see that his hands are not hands at all, but little itty bitty paws. He beat his paws uselessly against the ground, trying to convince himself he was just imagining things. But what he was seeing was real. He was now a small, furry animal._

 

_"What was that?" Iorveth heard a woman say. She sounded like she was nearby. Iorveth curled up into a ball and became completely motionless. If this woman was indeed who he thought she was, he was royally screwed. "Hello? Anyone there?"_

 

_Ves came out of the bushes and looked around for the strange humming, glowing, and music. She had been scouting the area for Scoia'Tael when she heard Iorveth's signature recorder-playing. Naturally, she followed it to find humming and purple light accompanying it. She had almost gotten close enough to see the source of the noise when she heard a pained groan. Ves had ducked low in case someone had spotted her, and that was all that kept her from seeing Iorveth's transformation._

 

_Iorveth bit into his arm to keep from making any noise. His ability to pretend to be a simple, still, silent rock was unparalleled, but that didn't matter when Ves left her hiding spot, walked up to him, and lifted up the collar of his too-big dress._

 

_"Oooh, you're so cute! I bet the guys would love you!"_

 

\--------

 

"What have you got there?" Vernon Roche leaned over and saw the ball Meowveth had found.

 

"Be careful with that. There was some strange stuff going on just before I found the clothes. I think magic was involved." Ves warned.

 

Meowveth pawed at the orb, then looked up at Vernon and meowed.

 

"Meowveth thinks its safe, apparently." Vernon pointed out. He picked up the orb and examined it closely. It appeared to be a fragile object, one that could have been magical once, but from what Roche could tell it had no special properties at this point. Vernon pocketed the orb. He needed to have an expert on magic investigate it later.

 

There was silence all around the forest. Ves looked around. Something was wrong. "Do you hear that?"

 

Vernon paused to listen to his surroundings. There was only complete silence. "I don't hear anything."

 

"Exactly…" There was the sound of an arrow whooshing through the air. Ves reacted before she could process it. She pushed Vernon Roche to the ground, saving his life.

 

"FOR THE SCOIA'TAEEEEEL!!!" Several elves jumped out of their hiding places, weapons drawn.

 

"Aw, feces!" Ves cried out. She got off of Vernon and pulled him to his feet. They drew their swords and fought the closest Scoia'Tael to them.

 

"Why didn't we bring soldiers along?!" Vernon voiced his regret. He lunged at his current opponent

 

"You didn't want to bring too many in case they destroy anything relating to Iorveth!" Ves parried a blow from the side.

 

"Remind me never to make such an amateur mistake again!" Roche performed a pirouette, wounding two enemies.

 

"I will!" Ves defeated all of her immediate enemies. "Wait a minute, where's the cat?"

 

"The cat?" Vernon knocked out the last of the swordfighting Scoia'Tael and looked around. "Oh no!" Meowveth was clawing at one of the nearby archers, meowing repeatedly. The archer got annoyed by him and started kicking him.

 

Verno sprinted forward. He raised his sword and yelled a battle cry. The archer looked away from the kitten towards the screaming human and nocked his bow. Vernon cut the bow into two with his sword and attempted to stab the archer, who barely dodged in time. Vernon swung his sword so quickly the archer did not have time to draw their sword or even get a moment to breathe. Vernon managed to strike them on the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking them out instantly.

 

One of the Scoia'Tael that had been defeated earlier blew on a whistle. Ves knocked her out, but by then it was too late.

 

"Ves, can you fight for longer?"

 

"I got stabbed earlier, so no." Ves clutched her abs, which were covered in blood.

 

"Then let's retreat. I can't fight and keep an eye on Meowveth." Vernon picked up the yowling and scratching kitten and held him close to his chest. He sheathed his sword and guided Ves away as quick as they could.

 

\-----

 

"That was some chase we went through." Roche laughed. Meowveth meowed, seemingly in agreement.

 

"I was sure my organs were going to spill out! Good thing they gave up so quickly once they lost us." Ves muttered, although she was enthusiastic. She is lying down on a cot, her abdomen bandadged up.

 

"I was sure they were going to find us when Veth started screaming up a storm. You'd think she wanted us to get caught."

 

""She?""

 

"I managed to determine Meowveth's sex earlier while you were getting stitches, she's a girl."

 

All of a sudden, Meowveth started clawing and biting at Roche's ungloved hand with the rage of a fierce demon.

 

"Ow ow OOOWWWW! Okay, you're a boy! Are you happy now?" Roche blurted out. Meowveth immediately calmed down and stopped hurting Roche. "Jeez… You're such a violent little troublemaker."

 

"We should have named him "Trouble" or "Bitey."" Ves joked.

 

"Yeah, we should have…" Vernon reached towards Meowveth to pet him, but Meowveth moved away and batted at his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ow ow ow! Cut it out!" Vernon was holding Meowveth as far away from his face as possible, trying to keep Meowveth from clawing his eyes out.

 

"Oh, stop it you two! Ha ha ha, you're gonna make me rip my stitches!" Ves laughed her ass off at the antics of her fearsome, deadly commander and a small, harmless kitten. "What, what did, what did you even do?! I space out for one second and that happens!"

 

"I don't know! I just mentioned ways we could take out Scoia'Tael operations and all of a sudden Meowveth started acting as though he was rabid!"

 

"Here, let me see him." Vernon gladly handed Meowveth to Ves. Meowveth switched targets and attempted to assassinate Ves. However, Ves was prepared and shifted Meowveth around in such a way that he couldn't claw her, then she hugged him and started singing a lullaby to him in a low voice. She wasn't very good at singing, but what mattered was that it had a soothing effect. By the end of her song, Meowveth had calmed down enough that Ves could stop holding him without having to worry about Meowveth clawing her.

 

"I didn't know you had a way with cats…" Vernon sat there impressed. Usually it took him twenty minutes and a toy to calm down a cat.

 

"I used to have a few as a kid. They were my only friends for a while." Ves held Meowveth to her chest. She tried to pat his head, but Meowveth bit her hand as soon as it got close. "Ow! That one really hurt!"

 

"I think I can handle him now. Give him to me." Ves handed Vernon back his cat. Meowveth allowed him to hold him close to his chest.

 

Iorveth got a good whiff of Roche's scent, which he didn't notice before. Although Roche and Ves smelled similar to each other, where Ves smelled like leather and blood, Vernon Roche smelled of smoke and the clean cotton of the shirt Roche had changed into. Iorveth, much to his own chagrin, absolutely loved Roche's scent. He didn't know why, but the scent made him happy. Iorveth vaguely noted that Roche didn't have the manly musk that most human males had.

 

"Huh. You managed to get him to let me hug him." Vernon was well and truly astonished that Meowveth let him even think about touching him.

 

"Nah, I think he's just getting used to you. Snowshoes like people, after all."

 

"You think so?" Vernon asked Ves. He tilted his head down at the kitten in his arms. "Is she right, huh? Are you starting to tolerate my prescence?" Meowveth lazily bit Vernon's arm. "Heh. I guess not." Vernon loosened his grip on Meowveth.

 

After a few minutes, Vernon heard snoring. Ves had fallen asleep. "Hey, Meowveth. I think we should make like her and get some rest. What do you think?"

 

Meowveth meowed and pawed and Vernon.

 

\---------

 

The Commander of the Blue Stripes finished writing his report for the day, thanks to a thoughtful soldier seeing the ink-soaked kitten earlier and realizing his boss would need ink. Meowveth was dozing off on the floor, not quite asleep yet, but very close.

 

"That can't be comfortable…" Vernon muttered. He emptied his quill of ink in his inkwell and put it in its proper spot on the desk, then he got up and pushed his chair in. He retrieved a spare chaperon from the chest he kept his clothes in. Vernon approached the sleepy cat. "Here, kitty… I've got something to keep you warm…" Vernon slid his hand under Meowveth.

 

Iorveth's eye shot open. He reflexively clawed at the human that had touched him. He heard a cry of pain and felt the hand being yanked away from him. Iorveth got up with a yowl and hissed at the overgrown cockroach, then he bolted away to hide underneath Roche's nightstand. From his hiding spot, he could hear the human cursing under his breath. Iorveth saw Roche get up and walk towards the nightstand. He backed away towards the wall automatically.

 

The human's face came into view. "I'm sorry… Do you want some chicken?" Roche placed a piece of chicken at the invisible border between underneath the nightstand and the rest of the room. Apparently he still hasn't eaten lunch.

 

Meowveth did nothing. Roche sighed. "Fine, you aren't hungry. Aren't you cold, however?" He put his chaperon down on the floor, then pushed it until the corner rested under the nightstand, where Meowveth could easily grab it and pull it towards himself. Meowveth did nothing. "I can see you're mad. Fine. I'll just get ready for bed."

 

Vernon stood straight up and backed away from the nightstand. He pulled off his chaperon and stripped off his outer clothes, including his necklace and shoes. He temporalily removed his tank top and fumbled at his back, unclasping the tight cloth around his chest. Vernon sighed in relief once it was off. It felt good to breathe unimpeded. The cloth didn't block his breathing per se, but it made it slightly harder to breathe.

 

"Good night, Meowveth!" Vernon called out. He put out the single candle that was lighting the room and he got into bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

 

Meowveth, however, took two hours to fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Vernon Roche woke up at exactly six AM. He got out of bed, and lit a candle on the nightstand with a tinderbox he kept for this purpose. The first thing he saw was the spare chaperon he gave Meowveth sitting in the middle of the room. It had clearly been dragged out. Vernon sighed, then he got fully dressed in some clean clothes. He threw the clothes he wore yesterday into a medium-sized basket so he could give the clothes to the soldiers who were on laundry duty. Vernon picked up the spare chaperon and sniffed it.

"Well, at least you didn't pee on this too…" Vernon muttered. He walked over to Meowveth's hiding spot under the nightstand and crouched down. He looked under the nightstand, and found the small kitten to be curled up into a ball and shivering so terribly that if Vernon didn't know any better, he would think his cat was suffering from hypothermia.

Vernon didn't say anything. He slid his chaperon under the nightstand so that it was almost touching Meowveth. Meowveth would take it if he wanted to, not because Vernon Roche happened to be concerned about him.

Vernon got up. He went to the door and opened it, before remembering something he left. He rifled through the laundry basket and pulled out his pants. He removed the dull, purple orb he had obtained yesterday and put in in his pocket. He stepped outside his room.

"Good morning, sir." A passing soldier greeted Vernon and held out a package to him. "Here is the cat litter you requested. You forgot to pick it up yesterday."

"Ah, thank you. Leave it by the door." The soldier bent down and put the litter down. "If there is nothing else you have to say, then you are dismissed."

"Along with the litter, there is a small, wide basket thing, I forgot the name, and there's also a scoop." The soldier explained. He pondered a little bit before speaking. "Sir, may we, me and the others, make little clothes for your cat?"

"Of course! What did you have in mind?" Vernon was in a cheerful mood. Contrary to popular belief, he was happier in the mornings than during the rest of the day. Of course, the kitten he had been given yesterday helped significantly with his mood too, even though it was vicious.

The soldier was taken aback. "Well, I, um, I was thinking we could make a little Blue Stripes uniform for him. Since he's our mascot now, I guess, I was thinking he should look the part. With your approval, of course."

All of a sudden, yowling and screeching could be heard from inside Vernon's room. A paw appeared from the slit under the door. It moved around, trying to find purchase on the ground.

"Ha ha, I see Meowveth misses me." Vernon opened the door for his cat. Immediately, Meowveth bolted out into the hallway and clawed at the poor soldier who Vernon was talking with. "Meowveth, NO!!!"

\------

"Well, I don't know how you managed to hospitalize three of my soldiers in under five minutes, but I have to admit I'm impressed. Of course, you're still in trouble, so I'm leaving you in here for now."

After ensuring that Meowveth would be okay in Vernon's room all by himself, Vernon shut the door. Meowveth needed to learn that biting and clawing at people was not okay. Immediately, he heard meowing and scratching. Vernon ignored it and headed down to the medical tent, where Ves was recuperating.

"Ves." Vernon addressed Ves.

"Yes, sir?"

"What do you know about this orb?" Vernon took the orb out of his pocket and held it to Ves.

"About as much as you do. It looks like a magical object, and it's clearly spent. I didn't see it until Meowveth found it." Ves took the orb and examined it. "We should probably contact someone proficient in magic and get them to take a look at this."

"I already sent the order out. Some soldiers are trying to locate someone with magical proficiency as we speak."

"You're one step ahead of me, it seems" Ves shrugged. "Did you remember to eat breakfast this morning?"

Vernon shrugged.

"Did you remember to give Meowveth breakfast?"

Vernon collected his stuff and got up to leave.

"Could you bring him down here once he's done? I want something to do besides sit around in bed all day."

\--------

He was gone for just twenty minutes. Twenty!

Yet somehow Meowveth managed to destroy practially everything in Vernon's room that a cat could physically destroy.

"Meowveth!"

Said cat stopped shredding Vernon's blanket and turned to look at him. Meowveth looked like he felt guilty for approximately 0.2 seconds, then he went back to his work.

Vernon grabbed a waterskin Meowveth thankfully didn't get to and poured some water onto his hand. Once his hand was nice and wet, he flicked it towards Meowveth while repeatedly shouting "No! Bad!". Meowveth freaked out when the water droplets hit him, but he stopped shredding the blanket.

"What am I to do with you?" Vernon pondered aloud. "You're lucky Ves wants to see you. Now, let's go. We need to pick up some breakfast for the both of us."

\--------

"You want the toy? Oh, do you want the toy? Do you- Owww, quit stepping on my stab wound." Ves groaned. She was laying back, with Meowveth on top of her. She guided Meowveth away from her wound by waving around a stick with a feather glued to the end.

"How are you? Is your wound healing up?" Vernon asked.

"Well, I already feel better than yesterday, so that's a good sign. I think having Meowveth here is helping it along. Plus, thanks to him, I don't have to suffer alone anymore." Ves smiled at all of the soldiers Meowveth incapacitated.

"At least someone's happy…" Muttered one of the soldiers who nearly died earlier.

"That cat is why I prefer dogs." Another commented.

The third soldier Meowveth injured offered no comment. He was comatose.

"How can a month-old kitten do so much damage?" Vernon pondered aloud. With the gouged-out eye and aggressive behavior, Meowveth reminded Vernon a little of Iorveth.

"I don't know. But maybe we could train him to attack the Scoia'Tael instead of our own soldiers." Meowveth flattened his ears and hissed at Ves. He jumped off of her and onto the ground. "Wait, no, come back!"

"Ah, cats. They're rather fickle."

"And this particular one is rather stubborn, just like you." Ves remembered the time they had to give Meowveth a bath and chuckled.

"He's one son of a bitch."

Ves giggled, and Meowveth seemed to laugh a little from the hidey-hole he had found near the medicine cabinet.

"What's so funny?"

"You called him a son of a bitch."

It took Vernon a minute. "Oh." The corner of his mouth lifted up in an amused smirk.

"He's a bit of a pussy when it comes to interacting with you." Ves joked.

"I hope we don't get a donkey, because if we do, he's going to be an ass to Meowveth." Vernon smirked, amused by his own joke.

A soldier parted the curtain into the tent and let himself in. "Commander Roche!"

"Yes?" Vernon turned away from Ves.

"We've received a message regarding those advertisements you had us send out." The soldier informed Vernon.

"Already? Hand it over." Vernon held out his hand to take the letter.

The soldier procured a letter from his pocket. It had no return address, only the name of the recipient, Vernon Roche. Said recipient broke the purple seal on the back and silently read the contents of the letter.

_"To the Blues Stripes Commander Vernon Roche,_

_I have received word that you are in need of magical expertise. I would like to offer up my expertise to serve our great country of Temeria. I have experience in teaching most areas of sorcery, though I oftentimes gravitate towards the areas of polymorphy, clairvoyanvce, and curses, for those are areas that I excel in. If you are interested in hiring me, please leave a letter addressed to me in P.O. box #13 at your earliest convenience._

_Yours Truly,  
Frida Wilkinson, Private Tutor in the Arcane Arts" _

"Is that all, soldier?" Vernon didn't look up from the letter.

"No, sir."

"Hm. Dismissed." Vernon waved him off with a flick of his wrist. The soldier saluted and left the tent.

"Is it good?" Ves asked once the soldier was out.

"Yes, it is. I would love to stay and chat, but now I need to pick up Meowveth and make a few arrangements. I don't want to leave him alone while I work."


	5. Chapter 5

"So this is the Blue Stripes base, huh?" The woman in purple muttered. "I must say, this place is absolutely filthy, even for a military base."

She walked with a confident swagger. Her parasol partially obscured her face, but left her purple trench coat uncovered. Said trench coat was unbuttoned, leaving her white undershirt and black pants showing. Her boots were clean, showing no sign of having traipsized through the forest.

"Excuse me? Do you know where Blue Stripes Commander Vernon Roche is?" The purple woman asked a foot soldier, who happened to be scratching his ass at the time.

"Why, hello there, miss! Has anyone told you you look sexy?" The soldier stopped scratching his ass and leaned towards the woman.

"Yes, in fact, at least half a dozen people tell me so every day. Now, where is Blue Stripes Comm-"

"How about we go spend a little time alone? I've got a bottle of whiskey we can share…" The soldier leaned in close to the woman, far too close for her liking.

"Get out of my face and tell me where Vernon Roche is, or I will turn you into a toad. And true love's kiss won't break the curse." The woman warned in a deep, dark tone.

"Forget about that guy. I know you want a real man. Why don't you-" He never finished his sentence. When he reached towards the woman's breasts, she cast a curse on him so fast he didn't even have time to flinch. He turned into a toad in seconds.

"The curse will wear off in twenty-four hours. Be grateful that I'm feeling merciful today. Now, you better get to safety before someone tramples you." She walked away, leaving the poor frog soldier to his fate.

\-------

The sounds of crashing and banging could be heard for miles.

"No! Bad!" Vernon picked Meowveth up by the scruff and scolded him. "You know you're not supposed to be in the armory!"

A few people poked their heads in, attracted by all the noise. Most of them laughed when they saw that Meowveth had gotten into trouble again.

"What are you looking at? Get back to work!" Vernon commanded. The small crowd that had gathered grumbled and dispersed, except for one person.

"Blue Stripes Commander Vernon Roche?"

"Yes. What do you want?" Vernon asked without looking at her.

"My name is Frida Wilkinson. You requested my aid." At that, Vernon turned around and faced her. Frida was an albino elf, with long braided hair hanging over her left shoulder. She wore a purple trench coat on top of what looked like casual clothing at first glance, but Vernon wasn't fooled. She had clearly dressed to impress, and the casual clothing was simply there to show that she had money and power and that she did not shy away from using either. In other words, she wore casual clothes for the purpose of intimidation.

"Ah, yes, I remember. Follow me." Vernon shifted Meowveth into a safe hold, then he led Frida to the briefing room. He sat down at a table and poured two glasses of wine. "Pull up a chair. Have a seat."

Frida sat down across from Vernon. "So, am I right to assume you need my help lifting a curse? You weren't very specific about what you wanted magical expertise for."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Vernon took a small orb from his pocket and set it on the table. Frida knew that it was a spent form of a magic trap just from looking at it. "One of my soldiers found this next to bandit leader Iorveth's clothes. I assume you know who Iorveth is?"

"Yes, I'm very familiar with him. Well, his reputation at least."

"Good, good. Anyway, apparently all of Iorveth's clothes were laid out, because even his underwear and head… bandanna… thing were there too. It was as if Iorveth literally teleported out of his clothes. But I'm getting off-track. We found that orb, along with this cat here, by the clothes. The soldier that discovered them reported seeing purple light emitting from there just before she got close enough to see what was causing it. We couldn't investigate much further due to being attacked by the Scoia'Tael."

"I see. Any details you want to share? Perhaps any inferences or guesses?" Frida asked.

"Well, this cat, Meowveth as we've taken to calling him, was found INSIDE Iorveth's clothes, and the orb was near his sleeve. Additionally, there are no bodies of water near the location where the clothes were found." Vernon explained.

"How has the cat been acting? Does he seem… attatched to you?" Frida questioned as Meowveth attempted to claw Vernon's face off. Vernon grabbed his front arms and restrained them.

"Not particularly, no. Since we brought him here, he's been getting into all sorts of trouble. For example, he keeps making huge messes and spreading the mess around, oftentimes getting himself dirty in the process." Vernon chuckled and looked at Meowveth. "You'd think after the fifth bath you'd stop, you little troublemaker…"

Frida smirked at the sight. "Mind if I…" She reached for the orb.

"Go ahead. I don't think it's been contaminated or anything, I've kept it with me since I found it."

Frida took the orb and held it to the light. She hummed as she pretended to examine it closely. "Well, I can tell you that this thing is certainly magical, but all the magic in it has been spent."

"I figured as much." Vernon sighed. "So, how much do you want to be paid?"

"Let me examine the cat in private and then I'll decide." Vernon huffed at this, but he put Meowveth down on the table and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Frida waited twenty beats before speaking. "Hey, Iorveth." She whispered. "I know it's you in there."

Meowveth shot up and looked at Frida with wide eyes. He meowed softly at her.

"Yes, I'm talking to you. You're probably wondering how I know you're Iorveth. I have extensive knowledge in curses. From a single glance, I could tell you were cursed. I figured out your identity when Roche told me his story."

Meowveth walked up to Frida and sniffed her. She giggled and traced a hand down his back. He batted at her hand, but he did not bite her.

"I'll try to find out what the exact wording of the curse was. In the meantime, why don't you try to find a way to communicate without making a mess, alright? I don't think you're getting your message across." Meowveth nodded at her in understanding. "Commander Roche! I'm done, you can come back in now."

"What price are you thinking of?" Vernon walked back in and sat back down at the table.

"Two-hundred seventy-five. And not a coin less." Frida wanted to keep her services cheap to ensure she would be hired, but expensive enough that Roche wouldn't get suspicious of her. Besides, the extra money Roche probably would have spent on her would be better off dedicated to cleaning supplies.

Vernon blinked in surprise. "Deal." He and Frida shook hands.


	6. Chapter 6

"Good morning, my lady." The servant laid down Frida's breakfast in front of her, a plate of bacon and fried eggs.

"Thank you. Any letters?"

"None, my lady. Not even from your "benefactors.""

"Hm, you may leave now." Frida dismissed her servant. The servant bowed and left the dining room, closing the door behind him. Frida ate in silence, the only sounds coming from her cutlery, and the magical ventilation. Soon, her servants joined the table with their own plates of food and struck up a pleasant conversation with each other.

Frida Wilkinson has four servants under her payroll: a personal chef, a maid, a butler, and a groundskeeper that doubled as a maintenance woman. The maid was the only male member of the household. They all lived together in a nice, modest home, except for the groundskeeper, who lived in her own shack at the edge of the gardens. Despite her financial status, Frida preferred to have a small home and property, with the bare necessities of a noble: a kitchen, a master bedroom, two guest rooms, a dining room, a living room, a garden to grow herbs for potions, and a laboratory in the basement for Frida to cast spells, use a megascope, and mix potions.

"Have you taken any jobs yet?" The groundskeeper asked Frida.

"Yes, but I've been sworn to secrecy. Sorry, guys." Frida shrugged.

"Oooooh, sounds interesting! Are you sure you can't tell us anything?" The chef piled food from a tray she brought onto her plate.

"Well, it may have something to do with my friends up above." Frida smirked. The others knew very well who she was talking about, so they didn't ask.

"Ah, is it related to the-" The butler was interrupted when Frida answered for her.

"Yes, yes it is." Frida munched on a piece of greasy bacon. "By the way, has anyone got a ribbon I can use? Just a heads up, you're probably never going to get it back."

"You can use mine." The maid unravelled a long piece of ribbon from his old, worn dress.

"Ah, thank you." Frida took the ribbon and put it beside her spoon, which went unused. "You know, I could buy you a new dress. You don't have to keep wearing old ones that look like they'll fall apart any second."

"No thank you. These have been passed down from my grandmother."

"Oh, I see. Well, I could have someone stitch them back together."

"No thank you. It's alright."

"Ah." Frida finished her meal and rose from her chair. "How's everyone enjoying the food?" Various variants of "good" responded to her. "Good, because I poisoned it. No, just kidding. Make sure you personally thank the chef, alright? Selena, if you're done, I want you to come with me."

Frida's butler, Selena, got up and followed Frida to her laboratory. She guessed that Frida wanted her assistance again with magical experiments or something. With how much she's helped Frida in magical matters in the past, she might as well be her apprentice.

\--------

"Good afternoon, Commander Roche." Frida shook Vernon's hand.

"Good afternoon, Miss Wilkinson. I trust you've come up with something?"

"I have come up with a few theories, but I need to test them first. I've brought some tools with me for that purpose." Frida pointed to her gray knitted shoulder bag.

"Ah. Follow me." Vernon led Frida to a sparesly decorated room with a desk and chair. Meowveth was playing with what Ves dubbed The Mysterious Orb. "Meowveth! How did you get in here?"

Meowveth meowed and went back to playing, rolling the ball across the room.

"This is where you'll… study the orb, or what not. You will need to use your own equipment, though you may request aid in transportation. Any questions?" Vernon watched Meowveth out of the corner of his eye.

"No, this will suffice for basic examination. Thank you. Also," Frida dug around her purse and pulled out a clean, red ribbon. She crouched down and tied it in a bow around Meowveth's neck. "I thought it would be best if your cat had some form of identification."

"Thank you. Let's hope Meowveth doesn't claw it off this time." Vernon reached down to pet the cat, but Meowveth clawed at his hand. "Why does he behave for you and not for me?"

"I just have a way with cats." Frida smiled as she meticulously put tools onto the desk.

"Well, let me get Meowveth out of here. I know magic requires great concentration." Vernon picked up Meowveth and carried him out, leaving Frida to her work.

\-------

Iorveth was busy harassing Vernon when he heard a voice in his mind that didn't belong to him.

_"Hey, Iorveth. Can you hear me?"_

Iorveth looked around for the source of the voice. It spoke again.

_"If you can hear this, project your thoughts to me. Or just think really loudly."_

_"I CAN HEAR YOU!"_

_"Whoa, not that loud! You just blasted out my brain!"_

_"Sorry. Is this better?"_

_"Yeah. Anyway, I'm Frida. Remember me? Well, you're probably wondering how I'm communicating with you."_

_"Magic, right?"_ Iorveth batted at a rubber ball, rolling it across the floor.

_"Partially. I enchanted the ribbon you're wearing so that we can psychically communicate."_

_"Good, I'm sick and tired of not being able to talk to anyone."_

_"There are some drawbacks to it." Iorveth did not like the sound of that. "Due to the particular enchantment on your ribbon, only the person wearing it and the person who enchanted it can communicate through it. In other words, you can only talk to me."_

_"Damn it."_

_"It's better than nothing, though. A plus side is that it brings forth pleasant dreams. Although…"_

_"Although what?"_

_"I don't really know how to explain this in a way that would make a lot of sense, but…"_ Iorveth heard Frida sigh in thought. _"There are certain… individuals… bored individuals, and those who need to see a particular thing happen… I have a contract with a few of these individuals. As long as you're wearing the ribbon, they can hear us. Well, more specifically, they can hear whatever goes on in your head. The contract I'm in mandates that I give them the "scoop" on whatever I'm doing, so to speak. But don't worry, they don't do anything, they just watch and listen."_

_"So these people can read my mind?"_

_"Yes."_

Iorveth was quiet for a long time while he processed this fact.

_"Um, Iorveth?"_

_"How dare you!"_ Iorveth clawed at the ribbon around his neck with all his strength, but it refused to tear.

"Meowveth!" Vernon stopped whatever he was doing to pick up Iorveth and restrain him. "What are you doing?! You'll hurt yourself!"

_"Lemme go lemme go LEMME GO!"_ Iorveth sank his teeth into the flesh of Vernon's hand. Vernon groaned in pain, but he didn't let go.

"You've got some teeth on you. Ves!" Vernon called out to his second-in-command.

Ves ran into the room. She saw the state Meowveth was in, and immediately understood what she needed to do. Ves pried Meowveth's jaws open, freeing Vernon's hand. She took the struggling kitten and held him in such a way that he couldn't hurt her or break free.

"You need to get that cleaned out. You could get gangrene." Ves recommended to Vernon.

"Aw, shit, you're right. Make sure you calm Meowveth down." Vernon turned and headed off to the medical ward.

"Yes, sir." Ves waited until Vernon was gone, then she started singing to Meowveth. He fell asleep to the sound of her voice.


	7. Chapter 7

Iorveth dreamed that he was a person.

He dreamed that someone was next to him, holding his hand.

Iorveth didn't see who it was. If he did, he didn't remember.

\--------

"Be quiet, he's sleeping." Ves whispered as she handed Meowveth to Vernon.

"Aw, he looks so cute." Vernon mumbled. He adjusted Meowveth until he was in a comfortable position for naps. Meowveth mewled in his sleep, and Vernon's heart melted. Meowveth purred and snuggled up to Vernon.

"Ooooh…" Ves moaned at how cute Meowveth was.

"Shh." Vernon shushed Ves. "Sleeping kitten, remember?"

Ves shut up. She rubbed Meowveth's fur a little and let Vernon take him away.

\-------

Vernon silently opened the door to his room, careful that it doesn't creak. He took Meowveth to the bed and sat down next to him. Meowveth unconsiously searched for the missing source of warmth. Vernon chuckled and rubbed Meowveth's head and back. Meowveth purred so much he woke himself up with a start.

"Good morning, kitty. Did your own purring scare you?" Vernon cooed. Meowveth took one look at him and bolted off the bed into his hidey-hole.

\-------

 _"Stupid, filthy dhoine! Ugh!"_ Iorveth rubbed his back and head against the wall in an attempt to get the icky feeling of human off of him. _"Why did I let my guard down?! Dhoines always take advantage of any situation they can!"_

Iorveth's ears picked up skittering. He looked to the source of the skittering, a mouse. Iorveth had an idea.

 _"Maybe if I shove that rat into Roche's mouth, he'll fuck off! Ooohhh, I'm a genius!"_ Iorveth did not hesitate in pouncing on the rat, trapping it in between his jaws. The rat struggled to break free, fighting for its life. This annoyed Iorveth, so he bit hard into the rat, piercing its heart and killing it.

Meowveth looked around for Vernon, but apparently he left while Iorveth was cleaning himself, for the door was ajar. Disappointed, Meowveth exited the room, looking for Vernon.

\---------

"So, according to my preliminary tests, this is indeed a spent cursed object." Frida held the orb up for Vernon to see.

"What kind of curse?" Vernon looked at the orb, half-expecting to see something different about it.

"I have a few hypotheses, but nothing concrete. I can tell the curse is very powerful, however."

"Can it be lifted?"

"Of course it can. The problem with lifting it is finding out how. We don't know what exactly the curse is, but we can assume it was targeted towards a particular person, in this case it was likely Iorveth." Frida explained.

"So Iorveth's running around with a curse?"

"Most likely. You said there haven't been any sightings of Iorveth for a while, right?"

"Yes. The last sighting was when we found his clothes." Vernon confirmed.

"Either he's running around with some sort of invisibility curse, he's in hiding, or he's been cursed into a different form. Either way, we will have trouble lifting the curse."

"Wait. I never said I was going to have the curse lifted." Vernon paused and then spoke.

Frida gave Vernon a look that said "Are you fucking kidding me?" She sighed and regained her professionalism. "Well, it's better to have this information and not need it."

"True, true." Meowveth walked into the room with a mouse in his mouth. "Oh! Meowveth!" Vernon walked to Meowveth and attempted to pet him. "Ohhh, that's so good! You caught a mouse! You caught a mouse!" Vernon was baby-talking at Meowveth, who looked very unamused.

"Careful, you might hurt his pride." Frida warned.

Vernon ignored her. "Ooohh, you're such a good kitty! Oh, good kitty!" Meowveth dropped the mouse to bite at Vernon's hand. He snapped his jaws shut as Vernon moved his hand away.

Meowveth huffed and turned away from Vernon, giving him a wonderful view of his anus. Frida chuckled at the two. They have such an amusing dynamic. It was a shame they were pitted against each other by all of Temeria. Luckily for them, they will spend so much time together they have no choice but to like each other. Maybe if Frida played her cards right, she could even get them to realize the Thing on their own. But for now, Frida needs to make sure Iorveth doesn't go insane from being around Vernon so much.


	8. Chapter 8

_"You didn't tell him that I'm Meowveth."_

Frida sighed and put down the purple orb. _"Yes, I didn't."_

_"Why didn't you tell him?!"_

_"Because if I did, then at best he'd accuse me of being crazy and drop me from the job, making me unable to lift the curse on you."_ Frida explained plainly.

Frida felt Iorveth mentally sigh. _"I guess you have a point. But you need to tell him someday. I want to be an elf again as soon as possible."_

_"Don't worry. I'll lift the curse as soon as I can. Until then, you need to be patient and keep attempting to communicate."_

\-------

Vernon took a few bites from his rations before setting it down, already full. It was a good thing he was alone in his room, he didn't want Ves to worry again. Vernon adjusted his chaperon and did a few stretches to offset the negative effects of his binder on him.

Meowveth shuffled into the room, slipping through the crack in the door. Vernon had left it open a little just for him.

"Hey, Meowveth." Vernon crouched down and offered his hand to Meowveth. Meowveth sniffed it, and then gave Vernon a view of his buttocks. "Oh, come on. It's been a month and you still won't let me pet you."

Meowveth huffed and climbed up to the top of the desk. He plopped down and took a cat nap.

"You're not very friendly for a Meezer. Meezers are typically friendly and affectionate, kind of like a dog. But you shun contact, and often act aggressively towards everyone but Frida."

Meowveth opened an eye and looked at Vernon, wondering where he was going with this.

"When Ves first brought you here, you were even more aggressive than you are now, and a lot clumsier. At first, you couldn't even drink properly. Before you figured out how to drink, you always got yourself absolutely soaked in milk. It was if you didn't even know how to be a cat."

Is this it? Was Vernon finally realizing who Meowveth is? Meowveth lifted his head, his full attention trained on Vernon.

"All those scars on your back… You were abused, weren't you? Pretty badly, by the looks of it.

_He screamed as the whip flayed his skin, leaving lacerations all over his back. He screamed, and cried, as his master toyed with him, drinking in his delicious cries._

Meowveth looked away, ashamed. Was it really that obvious?

Vernon hesitantly slid a hand to Meowveth. When he didn't respond, Vernon cautiously rubbed the top of Meowveth's head with his finger. Vernon gained more confidence when Meowveth did not hurt him. He ran a hand down Meowveth's back, making Meowveth close his eyes and begin purring.

Meowveth startled, and shot up. He looked around for the source of the odd voice. He softly meowed in confusion.

"Bet purring would feel odd, huh? I bet Iorveth hurt you so much you forgot what it's like."

Meowveth turned on Vernon and bit him. Vernon yelped and pulled away his hand. Meowveth sauntered off the desk and went into his hidey-hole under the nightstand, pulled out the cloth Vernon put there earlier that day, and went inside.

"Yep, Iorveth definitely abused you…" Vernon nursed his hand. Thankfully, Meowveth hadn't drawn blood, so he didn't need to disinfect. "If he's the one who gouged out your eye, I swear to the gods that when I finally get my hands on him…"

\---------

Iorveth shook as the cold seeped into his bones. He curled in tighter, trying to preserve body heat. No matter what he did, the nightstand seemed to circulate heat away from Iorveth. His fur was practically useless for how cold he was.

Footsteps signaled someone's approach, then part of Vernon's face was visible. He sighed, and rubbed his arms. Fog emerged from his mouth as his breath was cooled by the night air.

"Meowveth?" Iorveth struggled to contain his shivering. "It can't be very warm under there. Why don't you come out?" Iorveth curled in tighter. "Look at you, you're shivering far too much. At least let me put you on the desk or something. It has to be warmer than under there. I mean, that's the draftiest part of the room."

 _"So that's why it's so damn cold…"_ Iorveth thought. He got up on shivering legs and stepped out from the nightstand. Vernon cupped his hands, and Iorveth stepped into them. Vernon held Iorveth close to his body, rubbing Iorveth's side with his thumb.

Iorveth purred, and snuggled up to Vernon. Just because he was cold, and Vernon was warm. It didn't have anything to do with feelings. Vernon chuckled, sending vibrations throughout his body. He carried Iorveth over to his desk, setting him down. Almost immediately, Iorveth sceamed from the loss of warmth.

 _"What the fuck, dhoine?! I was enjoying that! Pick me up again or I'll kill you where you stand!"_ Iorveth thought as he yowled as loud as he possibly could.

"Alright, alright. We can snuggle some more." Vernon cupped his hands and held Iorveth close again.

_"This is NOT snuggling! Snuggling is what couples do! I'm just sapping heat from you! Don't look too much into it!"_

Vernon carried Iorveth over to the bed, where he laid down, putting Iorveth on his belly. Iorveth adjusted himself until he was comfortable, then he laid his head down. It was a good thing Vernon removed his armor to go to bed. Iorveth purred as Vernon pet him just right, making him relax and melt into Vernon's body. He quickly fell asleep like that, cuddling up to his greatest enemy as he pet him, something that was unthinkable just hours ago.


	9. Chapter 9

Iorveth dreamed that he was a person.

He dreamed that he was in a field, cuddling with someone he loves.

Iorveth didn't see who it was. If he did, he didn't remember.

\------

Vernon awoke slowly. He yawned, stretching his arms out without getting up. Meowveth was still sleeping on his chest. Vernon scratched Meowveth behind the ears, earning a delighted mewl.

Vernon smiled. How can Meowveth possibly be this adorable? He's a demon when he's awake.

Meowveth rolled over and exposed his belly. Vernon rubbed and patted the soft fur. Meowveth purred and snuggled into the touch, obviously not luring Vernon into a trap.

"You're such a pretty kitty…" Vernon cooed.

\-------

Iorveth woke up with a yawn. Someone was rubbing his belly. Iorveth purred, and snuggled into the touch.

"You're such a pretty kitty…"

Iorveth opened his eye. He glared at Vernon, who was smiling. At him. Iorveth ignored the fluttering in his heart and rolled over onto his back, huffing in annoyance, with himself or with Vernon, no one would ever know.

"Good morning, Meowveth. Mind getting off of me?" Vernon was essentially trapped by Meowveth, who was laying on his chest. He was happy Meowveth was finally warming up to him, but he needed to get up.

Iorveth responded by crouching down low, wiggling his butt, and pouncing at Vernon's face, itty bitty claws extended. Vernon caught him before he could brutally murder him.

"Aw, did you think I'm a mouse?" Vernon sat up and adjusted Meowveth so that he was resting in his arms. "Are you just playful this morning?"

 _"If it weren't for my miniature kitten body, I would have killed you by now. But it won't stop me from trying."_ Iorveth clawed a little at Vernon's hand, hissing at the offending body part.

"Sorry Meowveth, but I need to get ready for the day." Vernon put Meowveth down on the bed and walked away to change into his uniform for the day.

Iorveth huffed and performed the cat equivalent of pouting. He glared at Vernon, until he took off his shirt, somehow not removing the towel around his head in the process.

"Damn it all, I left my binder on. No wonder I'm so sore." Vernon grumbled. He loosened the binder, relieving some of the pressure.

Iorveth felt himself grow hot and looked away. Vernon, although he was very well built in Iorveth's opinion, looked a bit too skinny, but his legs! Oh, his legs!

Vernon finished changing and sat back down on the bed. He thought it was cute that Meowveth seemed to respect his modesty. He pet him while he wasn't looking, prompting Meowveth to jump into the air and let out an almighty screech.

"What an extreme reaction…" Vernon muttered. "I'm sorry, kitty, did I scare you?" Meowveth huffed and showed Vernon his butt. "Oh, don't be like that, you little shit."

Vernon got up and strapped his sword around his hips. He put on the rest of his armor and weapons and returned to Meowveth. He crouched down and cupped his hands to Meowveth, waiting for him. Meowveth, after a few moments, climbed into his arms. Vernon brought Meowveth to his shoulders and adjusted him until he was sitting on Vernon's shoulders.

Iorveth shifted around until he was comfortable, then he screamed into Vernon's ear. Vernon chuckled, making Iorveth extra giggly for some reason, and he scratched Iorveth's chin. Then, he walked a little too fast for Iorveth, opening the door and stepping out to face the day.

\-------

Iorveth truly felt regal, sitting on Roche's shoulders. His body was Iorveth's throne, his scent intoxicating him. From here, Iorveth felt as though he could see for miles. Soldiers cowered in his presence, tripping over themselves to get away from him as soon as they could. And if that wasn't great enough, Iorveth could command Vernon Roche to perform certain actions via physical input.

"Alright, here's the plan. - ow - First, we - ow - we take this unit and place it to the north to ambush the Scoia'Tael - ow, Meowveth, you stop that!" Roche pointed a finger at Iorveth. Iorveth simply nommed it. "Ugh, that's it, you don't get to sit on my shoulders anymore." Roche took Iorveth off his shoulder and held him, in one hand, to his chest. The soldiers chuckled a little, but they clammed up when Roche shot them an icy glare.

Well, the physical input didn't always work. But hey, at least Iorveth was cuddling up to Roche's… cold… hard… armored… chest. Fuck.

\--------

Iorveth ate his meal of chopped beef jerky and milk with gusto. He paused eating to lap at his milk. It was then that he noticed that Roche hardly even touched his food. Instead, he was hunched over his desk, reading reports from his soldiers on their ambush. From his face, it looked to be a complete failure. Iorveth felt satisfied, smug even, that his squadron was doing just fine while he was away.

"Stupid goddamn squirrels…" Roche grumbled as he closed the report.

Iorveth climbed onto the desk, an easy task now that he's done it several times. He nudged the report open with his nose and read it.

"I have no idea where I went wrong in my plan. Can you help me figure it out?" Roche asked the cat that couldn't talk.

Iorveth meowed and pushed Roche's plate towards him. _"Eat your fucking food, dhoine."_

"I appreciate that, but I'm not hungry. What I need is…"

Iorveth meowed louder.

Roche sighed. "I guess I'll have a few bites." He sat down, took his fork, and ate a fraction of his food.

In the meantime, Iorveth continued reading the report. The Scoia'Tael, at least his particular squadron, seemed to be disorganized, targeting the Blue Stripes and striking at random. It wasn't visible at first glance, but the Scoia'Tael was suffering without his leadership.

"Alright, I ate." Roche put down his fork. "Now, where did I go wrong?"

 _"Gee, I don't know. Maybe when you decided to kill elves indiscriminantly. Or maybe it was when you decided it was a good idea to join the motherfucking military in the first place."_ Iorveth attempted to scream at Roche. He only succeeded in producing a small, soft mewl.

"I guess I should stop worrying so much." Roche reached over and dragged a finger down Iorveth's fur. Iorveth purred at first, then he bit Roche's finger. "Ow! …Cats. You can never make up your mind."

_"Fuck you."._

"I was thinking about changing your name," Roche put his hand down on he desk. "I originally named you after Iorveth, but now that I know what he's done to you, it doesn't feel right calling you after your abuser- Ow!" Iorveth bit Roche again. "As I was saying, it doesn't feel right calling you "Meowveth" anymore. What do you think? You want a name change?"

Iorveth yowled and clawed heavily at Roche, mentally calling him a "dumb fucking dhoine that doesn't know his own ass from his face."

"Ow ow ow! Stop that!" Roche flicked some of his drink at Iorveth. "Okay, you want to be Meowveth! Fine! You're still Meowveth!"

\--------

"Madame, your benefactor wishes to speak with you."

"Oh, well I'm currently not doing anything, so…" Frida got out of her bed and followed Selena to the basement. She walked down the stairs, tuning out the twitching and panting from her butler.

Frida arranged her lab to make it more suitable for visitors (No, she was not cleaning her lab. That would imply that it was messy.) while Selena stood to the side, gripping the back of a chair so hard her knuckles turned white.

"I'm ready." Were the magic words Frida uttered to make Selena relax within a split second. The lighter streaks of Selena's hair changed its color from brown to a dark pink, and her posture changed from a stiff, formal pose to a relaxed stance.

'Selena' shook out her hair. "Okay, tell me how it's going."

"The contract? It's going well. Iorveth and Roche seem to have gotten closer, though Iorveth is still aggressive towards him. I have been implanting dreams into Iorveth via an enchanted collar, which also allows us to psychically communicate."

"Well, it's not going fast enough! When will they finally-?"

"Patience. Falling in love takes time."

"Ugh!" 'Selena' threw her arms up and sat down in the chair. "Can't you just use a love potion then?! I need to win this damn bet and you're going at a snail's pace here!"

"Love forced to form is not love at all, but a cheap, fragile imitation." Frida reached into a cabinet and pulled out some alcohol, chilled with a spell. "Vodka?"

"Fuck yeah." 'Selena' yanked the bottle into her hand from across the room and drank straight out of it, not caring about the taste. "Ah, that hit the spot. I almost forgot what it's like to just get tipsy in a mortal body."

"Really? I thought alcohol would be your thing."

"It would, if I were able to get it. But the stupid elder gods forbid it! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find booze?"

"Can't you just possess someone and get the drinks?"

"One, you rarely have booze, two, I like this body."

"Gods and their pickiness…" Frida muttered under her breath. "Is there anything else you would like to tell me? Maybe something from the other commissioners?"

"They both want a time table. I thought they would have asked you about that already, but I guess not." 'Selena' shrugged and gulped down more vodka.

"Tell them it could take from a few more weeks up to months for now. Now, if that's all, it's time for me to do the dream implantation. Good night, Viruden."

"'Night." Viruden said right before she exited Selena's body. Selena panted, wiping away her cold sweat.

"How do you feel?" Frida asked.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up, but I am fine." Selena leaned back in her chair and took a few deep breaths. "You'd think after all this time, I would get used to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by mrterzieff_godefroy. Viruden's name also come up by him. Viruden is enochian for "beautify"


	10. Chapter 10

Iorveth dreamed he was a person.

He dreamed that someone was hugging him from behind and kissing his hair.

Iorveth didn't see who it was. If he did, he didn't remember.

\-------

Iorveth woke up with a soft mewl. He got up and performed a kitty stretch, such stretches are very important if you are a tiny kitten. Iorveth groaned as his back popped. He observed that Roche was already awake, reading a book.

"Good morning, Meowveth." Roche smiled and put down his book when he saw his cat was awake. "Did you sleep well?"

_"Seems like someone's in a good mood today."_

Roche put his book down on the desk and sat down on the bed. He ran his hand down Iorveth's back, who purred a little in exchange. Roche smiled, and scratched Iorveth just the way he liked it. Iorveth leaned into the scratches and purred even more. Roche, without stopping his petting, took his free hand and shifted Iorveth until he was cradled in his arm.

Iorveth took a good whiff of Roche's scent. Smoke, and clean cotton. Roche smelled good, for a dhoine. Iorveth couldn't get enough of his scent. It simply intoxicated him, making him want to snuggle and cuddle and kiss Vernon senseless.

 _"No! What the fuck are you thinking?! He's your enemy!"_ Iorveth internally screamed at himself. He didn't notice that Roche had made it over to the canteen area.

"Commander." The chef saluted.

"At ease. Meals for both of us, please." Roche ordered.

The chef prepared two plates, one with an omelet, and another with chopped chicken. He poured milk into a glass and onto a saucer and served it on a tray with the food. Roche took the tray with one hand and brought it to a table. He set the tray, and Iorveth, down.

 _"Stupid dhoines trying to get into my pants…"_ Iorveth ate the chicken as he stewed in his misguided anger. His tail twitched as he thought about how Roche was clearly trying to seduce him, how Roche was a stupid dhoine that couldn't even keep his hands to himself, how Roche had smiled beautifully as he lovingly rubbed his back in just the right way to make him purr…

Wait. Beautiful? Why did he think Vernon's smile was beautiful?

Iorveth shook his head. _"I must still be asleep or something."_

"Ha ha ha, you're so silly…" Roche cooed as the kitten shook his entire body.

"Commander Roche." A soldier approached, stopping just before Roche.

Roche shot up. "What is it?"

"Do you remember when I requested permission to make a uniform for Meowveth?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well," The soldier held a package to Roche. "It's done."

Roche took the package and inspected it. It didn't seem to be booby-trapped, so Roche took a knife and cut the string holding the wrapping paper together. He took out the little clothing and held it up. Iorveth saw it and bolted.

_"I will NOT wear a Blue Stripes uniform! Never in a million years!"_

\--------

"Ves, I have something to show you." Vernon had his back turned towards Ves, and was apparently holding something that was wriggling around.

"Oh?"

Vernon turned around, showing off a very upset Meowveth. Meowveth was wearing a little uniform that looked almost exactly like Vernon's, except that it was cat-sized, it was designed to look cute, and there was nothing on his head.

Ves gasped. "Meowveth! Oh, you're so cute!" She rubbed Meowveth behind the ears, prompting him to try and bite her. "How did you get him to wear this at all?"

"Lots of chasing and treats. Plus, I had to miss breakfast the one time I actually cared for it. But it was worth it, right, Meowveth?"

Meowveth yowled and hit Vernon with his paw.

"Aw, he's even got little booties on! That's adorable!" Ves cooed.

A soldier came up running. "Sir… You forgot this." He held up a small piece of cloth.

"Thank you. Dismissed." Vernon took the cloth from the soldier, who left to do whatever it is he did in his free time. "Now, what do we have here?" It took Vernon a few seconds to realize what the cloth was supposed to be. "Ves. Could you hold Meowveth for a second?"

"Yes, sir." Ves took the struggling Meowveth from Vernon's arms and held him tight. Vernon crouched down a little and took Meowveth's head. He slipped the cloth on, putting the ears through the holes, and then he adjusted it until it looked right.

"That's so adorable I might just shed a tear."

Meowveth now wore a dark chaperon around his head, completing his outfit. He now wore a copy of Vernon's uniform, one that put emphasis on how little Meowveth was. Meowveth himself seemed to pout dramatically and fold in his legs.

Ves gasped, and then she was silent. She and Vernon pet Meowveth, as if hypnotized by the cuteness. Meowveth didn't like how they thought he was cute, but he let them pet him.

"From now on, Meowveth, you're officially the mascot of the Blue Stripes!" Vernon smiled a little and announced.

That was what drove Meowveth rabid.

\-------

"Wilkinson, we need to-" Vernon entered the room unannounced.

Frida screamed, and the spell she was performing warped itself, shooting her across the room. She hit the wall with a thud and fell to the ground. Vernon ran over to her and checked her pulse.

"Pulse still strong, good… Wilkinson, are you conscious?"

"Why did you have to do that?" Frida groaned and propped herself on her elbows.

"I apologise. How do you feel?"

"Bad."

"Allow me to help you up." Vernon grabbed Frida's arm and helped her to her feet. Frida stumbled and almost fell, even though she didn't move from the spot. "We need to take you to the medical tent."

"But I'm fine." Frida said in a deliberately slurred voice. She didn't look at Vernon.

"No you're not. You're coning with me, and that's final." Vernon wrapped an arm around Frida and guided her out.

\-------

"She is alright, though her back and head took some damage. I recommend keeping her here for a few days for the sake of monitoring her for brain damage." The doctor informed Vernon.

"Is she still asleep?"

"Yes. I gave her some herbs that will soothe pain and make her drowsy. She may not wake up for a while."

"Well, it's getting late anyhow. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"She may have memory loss from hitting her head. Other than that, nothing, sir."

"I shall take my leave, then. Dismissed." Vernon and the doctor took off in separate directions, Vernon to his room to write a letter to her house, and the doctor to the inside of the tent.

\-------

Frida groaned and stretched. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, taking in her surroundings. Frida froze. This was not her bedroom.

Frida remembered the events of last night. Vernon had startled her while preparing a spell to implant a dream into Iorveth, altering the spell so that it somehow threw her into a wall. She had pretended to be concussed then. That way, Iorveth and Vernon could have a little more time to fall in love.

Frida sighed in relief. She held two fingers to her temples and attempted to send a psychic message.

_"Hey, Iorveth?"_

No response.

_"Yoo hoo, Iorveth?"_

No response.

"Dammit, he must be asleep." Frida fell back into her cot and closed her eyes.

\--------

"Miss Wilkinson. Are you awake?"

"Urgh, I am now." Frida rubbed her eyes.

"My apologies, but I am busy today, and I need to discuss your progress in finding out where Iorveth is." Vernon insisted, rather rudely in Frida's opinion.

"Okay, um," Frida searched for a convincing lie. "Fuck, something happened last night, what happened?"

"I feared you would have lost your memory." Vernon sighed. "What do you remember from last night?"

"I was home, then the research place. I was doing something, and that's it. But I have the feeling that's not all that happened."

"You were casting a spell, I startled you, and the spell sent you flying into a wall, where you hit your head." Vernon explained as he tapped his foot. "Did you find anything out, by the way?"

"Fuck, I don't know. Could you give me some time to remember?"

"Yes." With that, Vernon left Frida to her own devices.

Frida sighed in relief once Vernon was gone. She took some paper that had been left by her bedside and began writing a letter to Selena.


	11. Chapter 11

Iorveth dreamed that he was a person.

He dreamed that he was brushing the hair of a blonde person in blue.

Iorveth didn't see who it was. If he did, he didn't remember.

\--------

Iorveth opened his eye. He quickly realized that he had fallen asleep in Roche's lap. Apparently, he had been working late into the night, and had fallen asleep at his desk. Luckily, he remembered to remove his armor and his binder before working. He still hasn't removed his chaperon, though. Iorveth was starting to think the chaperon was his hair.

Iorveth contemplated his dream. It meant something, something Iorveth knew very clearly what the significance was, but didn't want to acknowledge. Doing so would mean that…

He didn't want to think about it.

Iorveth thought back to the little details of the dream. Blonde hair. Blue clothes. Obviously, the person in his dream was blonde, and regularly wears blue. The only person Iorveth could think of that fit that description was Ves.

Iorveth didn't particularly mind that it was Ves. She was a strong, beautiful warrior, one that can beat even witchers in combat. Plus, she has a soft spot for cats.

Vernon awoke with a snort. Iorveth jumped a little when he suddenly shifted around. Vernon rubbed his eyes and felt pressure on his lap.

"Hey, Meowveth. Did I fall asleep again?" Vernon yawned and stretched his arms.

Iorveth meowed, in that tone of meow that demanded pets. Vernon reached down and rubbed Iorveth, sending sparks through his body. Iorveth purred extra loudly.

"Did you rub yourself against a carpet? Why do you feel so electrified?" Vernon thought aloud.

Iorveth didn't care that they felt like they were both being electrocuted. Iorveth just wanted pets.

\-------

Iorveth watched as Vernon and Ves attacked their respective dummies. They screamed as they hacked and slashed the wooden dummies into kindling. Iorveth decided to contact Frida.

_"Frida."_

It took a few seconds for Frida to respond. _"Yes?"_

_"Any progress?"_

Iorveth could almost feel Frida pondering her answer. _"Well, uh, the curse is… it has something to do with soulmates."_

_"Soulmates?!"_

_"Yes. I managed to infer that. Why?"_ Frida subtly proded.

 _"I… had a dream."_ Iorveth finally admitted, not just to Frida, but to himself.

_"…Really? You mean…?"_

_"Yes. It was revealed to me last night."_

_"You mean, he was brushing your hair and everything?!"_

_"One, I don't know if my soulmate is male, two, I was brushing their hair."_

_"Is there any significance in who's brushing whose hair?"_ Frida asked.

_"Only that whoever does the brushing is the first one to have their soulmate revealed."_

\--------

Frida was stunned. The spell she was casting yesterday was just supposed to make Iorveth dream about cuddles and kisses. Instead, the spell had been warped into a powerful form of Aard. Could it be that the soulmate reveal was natural? Did it finally happen? Or was it due to Frida's spell?

_"Could you describe your soulmate? In detail?"_

_"I only know that they're blonde and associated with the color blue."_

Frida took a deep breath and thought about her words, what information she should reveal. _"Blue, right? Maybe they're a member of the Blue Stripes."_

_"I hope not. But knowing my luck, it probably is. At least Ves is cute."_

_"…Ves? What does she have to do with this?"_ As soon as the words psychically formed, Frida realized her mistake. _"Oh yeah! Yeah, she's blonde and blue! But are you sure it's her?"_

_"She's the only blonde here. Believe me, I've memorized every single person in this camp."_

Frida was silent for a few moments. _"Are you sure you've seen the hair of every single person here? Maybe there's a someone here that, I don't know, maybe there's someone here where even the gods have it written down somewhere in the tags that you're supposed to be with, maybe that's the person you least expect it to be."_

_"What the fuck are you talking about?"_

_"Look, what I'm trying to say here is that it might not be who you think it is. Think long and hard about who else it could be."_

Frida could hear Iorveth's thought process. He became more and more panicked as he came to a realization: he had never seen Vernon Roche's hair. Frida sighed externally, turning over in her bed as she waited for Iorveth to get over his panic.

_"No no no no no no no, it's not him, it can't be him. Anyone but him. We're sworn enemies. We can't be together. It has to be Ves, not him."_

Iorveth went on for so long that Frida decided to turn off the psychic connection for now and read a book. Five minutes later, Selena entered the medical tent, with a small cake and a soldier watching her intently.

"Miss, I have brought you a present." Selena spoke first.

"Thanks. Which flavor?"

"Chocolate with rainbow sprinkles in it."

"Let me have at it, then." Frida took the cake from Selena. She realized she didn't have any silverware. Selena handed her a fork and knife. "Thanks. So, you got my letter."

"Yes, along with Commander Roche's, ma'am." Selena cast a simple hypnosis spell on the soldier. He left the tent, standing just outside the entrance. "Speaking of which, how goes your progress?"

"Great. I may need to hurry, though. Iorveth might have had his soulmate reveal."

"You've never explained what this whole "soulmates" thing is about, miss." Selena procured a canteen of warm tea from her belt. "Something to drink?"

"Sure." Frida took the tea and downed a small portion of it. "So, elves have soulmates, the person they're literally destined to be with in a romantic sense. At some point in their life, when it's viable for them to be with their soulmate, their soulmate will be shown to them via dreams where either they brush their soulmate's hair, or the other way around. More often than not, however, they don't show the complete picture. Initially, they just show little clues as to the identity of the soulmate, such as their hair, build, and gender. Over the next few nights, more and more information is revealed until the identity of the soulmate is finally revealed. No one knows why soulmates are a thing, or why the dreams don't just show the identity right away. I'm no expert on this topic, so if you want to learn more, read some books on it or talk to Viruden." With that, Frida finally bit into her cake, finishing her lesson.

"Hmm… Why did you say Iorveth "may have" had his soulmate reveal? It sounds like something that either you're sure about or it didn't happen."

"Well, long story short, I fucked up a dream spell. Now I have no idea if the dream was because of me, or it was a real soulmate reveal. The only way to know for certain is if Iorveth dreams of his soulmate without my interference. But that poses a bit of a dilema for me, as the artificial dreams delayed the soulmate reveal to allow time for Iorveth to fall in love with Roche. If I don't produce a dream, and the soulmate reveal was fake, then waiting might trigger the real soulmate reveal, and I won't have much time to do what I need to do after that. If the soulmate reveal was real, and I produce a dream, then it could result in brain damage."

"Brain damage?"

"You see, if someone tries to block, cover up, or suppress a soulmate reveal, it could have detrimental effects on the dreamer. By not allowing the soulmate reveal to surface, then the dreamer could experience organ failure, brain damage, and many more lethal conditions." Frida bit into a piece of and continued. "What I was doing with my dreams and the ribbon I gave Iorveth was delaying the soulmate reveal by using a combination of magic and pheromones. Since Iorveth has to spend a lot of time around Roche, these effects transfer to him, as well. My dreams are made to amplify these effects, as well as control Iorveth's dreams. But now that the spell may not have worked…"

"I see." Selena nodded in understanding. "You're talkative today. No intelligent conversation?"

"Nope. Closest I can get is with the doctor, and they're out for lunch right now."

"How is your head, by the way?"

"I'm sure by now it's fine. It's only doctor's orders that's keeping me here." Frida rubbed the spot where her head hit the wall. "How are the gods feeling?"

"They're pleased that Iorveth had his soulmate reveal at last, but…"

"I need to work fast, then." Frida finished her cake and threw her legs over the side of the cot. "I'll leave a note for the doctor and get back to work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by mrterzieff_godefroy


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hasn't been beta-read yet, so I apologize for any mistakes. I will edit this as soon as MTG finishes up

Vernon dreamt he was with a person.

He dreamt that someone he loved was brushing his hair.

Vernon did not see who it was. If he did, he did not remember.

\-------

As soon as Vernon awoke, he sat straight up and said, "What the fuck."

\-------

"Miss Wilkinson. I thought you were resting." Vernon walked into the room to see Frida studying the orb once again.

"I was, but then I got tired of it. Besides, I was feeling productive today." Frida put down the orb. "Since you're here, do you mind satisfying my curiosity?"

"Depends." Vernon crossed his arms.

"Why exactly do you want Iorveth?"

"Because," Vernon took a deep breath. "He is a prominent enemy. The Blue Stripes hunt the Scoia'Tael, and he is the leader of the Scoia'Tael in this area, therefore he is a valuable target."

"Ah, but surely there are other prominent members of the Scoia'Tael." Frida prepared a little spell that would make Vernon chatty.

"There are, but it was decided that our resources for capturing were best spent on Iorveth. If he falls, the Scoia'Tael wil fall apart, which is why it's been so disorganized and aggressive lately."

"Capture? Why not kill him?" Frida subtly cast the spell.

"He's more useful alive than dead. He can give us intel, and if we keep him imprisoned long enough, the Scoia'Tael will rot from the inside-out. If he is killed, they will simply get a replacement for him."

"Fair enough." Frida nodded in understanding. "So, when you capture him, do you have any plans as to what to do with him?"

Vernon was silent for a long time. "...No. No I don't."

"Is there… anything you want to say to Iorveth?"

"Well, one thing I want to say is that I've always wanted to-" Vernon's hands shot to his mouth, his eyes bulging in realization. Vernon let his mouth go. "You bitch!"

"Sir?"

"Have you casted a fucking spell on me?! I swear, you'll be lucky to be alive after-!"

"Roche, Roche, Roche, calm down. I cast a few spells earlier to test out a hypothesis, so the residual magic may be affecting you. Come here so I can clear the magic out of you." Frida raised her hands up to emphasize the calming effect she wanted.

"If you cast any more spells…" Vernon growled, but he stepped forth anyway.

"Don't worry, I'll only cast one spell…" Frida mouthed some magic words, ones that would override the current spell on Vernon. She slammed her hands together and then spread them out. "Give me your hand."

Vernon did just that. He felt pain, travelling throughout his body. "Frida, what-?"

"If it's painful, tell me so."

"It is."

Frida let go of Vernon. "That's a good indication that it's done. Now, since I've cast a spell on myself to make myself more thoughtful, that effect might have bled into you. Other than that, there should be no other effects. Return to me if you're so thoughtful it becomes detrimental. That's all."

"What about Iorveth's curse? Any progress on that?"

"Oh, uh, it's definately a transformation curse, likely one to turn into a mammal. And breaking the curse has something to do with soulmates. You know the deal with soulmates?"

"Yes."

"Good, I don't need to explain anything." Frida huffed. "By the way, do you know how soulmates are revealed?"

"Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Have a good day, sir." Frida dismissed Vernon.

"Good day to you too." Vernon exited the room.

\---------

Vernon sighed as he looked over the paperwork on his desk. The Scoia'Tael seem to be even more aggressive lately, which was saying something. Vernon put his face in his hands and sighed.

Without Iorveth leading them, the Scoia'Tael were slightly more poorly led, but they were also more vicious, more cruel, more bold. Speaking of Iorveth, Vernon wondered what he was doing right now. Frida mentioned the curse on him was related to soulmates, maybe he was having his soulmate reveal right now.

_"Well, one thing I want to say is that I've always wanted to-"_

Had Vernon finished that sentence, he would have given away his greatest secret: he has always wanted to just kiss Iorveth's pretty face. Not that Vernon was romantically attracted to him, or anything. He's just always wanted to see how soft Iorveth's lips really are.

Vernon wished Iorveth was brushing his hair, just like in his dream that night. He wished he could just snuggle up to his warm body and hold hands with him. Vernon took off his chaperon in the real word and shook his hair out.

A squeak alerted Vernon to Meowveth, who had just walked into his room through the open door. Vernon chuckled and plucked up Meowveth.

"Does my hair look weird? Huh?" Vernon placed Meowveth on the desk. Meowveth didn't react. He seemed to be transfixed by the sight of Vernon's hair.

Vernon pat Meowveth on the head and got back to work.

\----------

Iorveth still couldn't believe it, even an hour later, as he and Vernon got ready for bed. Vernon had hair. Hair! All this time Iorveth thought he had gone bald, despite him being a trans man, when really he was hiding his beautiful, blonde hair! It was the blondest Iorveth had ever seen in real life, and there was so much of it to play with, because his slightly curly hair went all the way to the bottom of Vernon's shoulderblades.

"You like my hair a lot, huh?" Vernon off-handedly commented as Iorveth chewed on his hair. "Well, I need to put you down for now. I need to change."

Iorveth yowled as his playtime was abruptly ended by Vernon carrying him into bed. _"How dare that dhoine refuse to let me ruin his hair!"_

"You can bite my hair when I'm done, alright?" Vernon pet Iorveth and started stripping down.

This time, Iorveth didn't look away. Vernon changing around him was becoming a normal thing for them. Vernon stripped off his tunic, then his armor, then his binder.

Iorveth panicked when he saw just how skinny Vernon was. His ribs were clearly visible, and became even more pronounced when he inhaled. His waist was far too small for his body, and looked like it would snap if Vernon put too much weight on his shoulders.

"I guess you've never seen me without my binder. I always put on pajamas before bed." Vernon chuckled at his kitten's reaction to his body.

 _"I know you're trans, that's not what I'm worried about! YOU! CLEARLY! DON'T! EAT!_ Iorveth screamed in hidden concern as Vernon pet him.

Vernon laid down on the bed, careful not to accidentally push Iorveth off. Iorveth got an idea. He climbed onto Vernon's belly and hopped all over it. Vernon groaned as Iorveth hit a bruise from combat practice.

"Meowveth, what -ow- are you doing?"

_"TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE YOU STUPID FUCKING DHOINE!!!"_

Vernon caught Iorveth mid-jump and held him in the air before speaking to him in a soothing voice. "You can't do that. That hurts. You can nibble my hair, but you can't stab me with your claws."

Iorveth looked down. He noticed the red marks on Vernon's tummy. Then, he realized that at some point he had gotten his claws out. _"I… hurt you?"_ Iorveth retracted his claws and looked anywhere but Vernon.

"It's okay, kitty. I forgive you." Vernon put Iorveth down on his chest, nestling him between his breasts and his neck. He pet Iorveth soothingly, running the palm of his hand down his back.

 _"You really need to eat, though…"_ Iorveth nommed a tuft of Vernon's hair. It tasted like sweat, soap, pine needles, and hair, along with Vernon's usual scents.

"Goodnight, Meowveth." Vernon smiled, a rarity nowadays. Only Ves and Meowveth could drag one out of him.

\---------

Despite Vernon wishing a good night to Meowveth, he didn't sleep. He laid awake in bed as Meowveth snorted and snored. Vernon idly rubbed a small circle into Meowveth's side with his finger as he tried to fight off insomnia. His thoughts bounced around his mind, rolling the embrace of sleep away as they hit.

Vernon was starting to think that maybe he should have gone to Frida again, while he still had the chance.

One thought in Vernon's mind refused to dissipate: Iorveth. Iorveth, the bandit who lies, cheats, and steals from Temeria's subjects. Iorveth, the murderer that targets innocent humans. Iorveth, the handsome elf who's evaded capture time and time again.

Wait. Handsome?

Vernon slapped himself lightly on the cheek. He was getting so lonely he saw Iorveth as attractive. But… he did have a beautiful eye. And he always looked graceful, no matter what he did…

Vernon pressed his hands to his face and groaned. Meowveth woke up and looked at him oddly. Vernon rubbed Meowveth behind the ears.

"My thoughts are just getting out of control." He reassured Meowveth. Meowveth laid his head back down and closed his eye.

Come to think of it, Meowveth had a similar scar as to what Vernon has seen of Iorveth's. He wondered if that was intentional.

"Don't worry, Meowveth. I'll get revenge on Iorveth for being so cruel towards you…" Meowveth bit Vernon in response. Hard. "Ah! Fuck!"

Meowveth, satisfied by his retribution, relaxed and fell asleep. Vernon carefully checked for blood. Surprisingly, there was none. Vernon sighed in relief and put his hands down. He thought of Iorveth again, and the cruel things he would do to him once he's captured him: tie him up, take off his bandanna, force him to look him in the eyes, and then kiss him senseless for hours until-

Damn. Vernon was really tired.

Vernon focused on Meowveth's tiny little breaths and slowly went to sleep. His last thought was how nice it would be for Iorveth to be curled up to his side.


	13. Chapter 13

Iorveth dreamed he was a person.

He dreamed that he was brushing the hair of a strong, blonde person in blue.

Iorveth didn't see who it was. If he did, he didn't remember.

\-------

 _"Vernon! You aren't giving me enough attention, you stupid, filthy human!"_ Iorveth laid down on the parchment Vernon was writing on.

"Meowveth! I'm busy!" When Iorveth didn't move, Vernon sighed, rubbed his temples, and transferred Iorveth to his lap. Vernon idly pet Iorveth while writing.

 _"Stupid fucking human! I don't want to be treated like a simple pet!"_ Iorveth hopped off of Vernon and nipped his exposed ankle.

"Meowveth, no!" Vernon pulled his legs up on the chair, preventing Iorveth from biting them.

Iorveth was filled with a strange feeling. It felt… It felt like… something bad, something he had done was bad. It was… remorse? Iorveth hadn't felt this emotion for years. He had killed countless people, yet giving one man, his enemy nonetheless, a bite on the leg had caused Iorveth to feel guilt. Iorveth realized that he felt bad for every single time he had ever hurt Vernon. What was wrong with him?

"Tell you what, if you're good and don't bite or scratch me, you can cuddle up to me." Vernon lowered his feet for Iorveth. After some hesitation, Iorveth jumped up his pant leg, thankfully managing not to claw Vernon in the process. Iorveth settled himself down on Vernon's lap. Vernon smiled and pet him, thankful that his cat was finally warming up to him.

\--------

Frida smirkes as she read Iorveth's emotions. Oh yes, he was getting there. He's starting to fall in love.

Frida changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She read a book on medical conditions relating to soul mates, stopping at the section on what happens when two soul mates don't get enough skin-on-skin contact before deciding to practice a little spell.

She didn't register the shuffling of a person hiding behind some tapestries.

\--------

Vernon punched the wall, leaving a crack in it. He shook his hand and sat down.

"Shit, bitch, damn it, fuck! God fucking damn it!"

Ves stood outside, not daring to enter. She knew damn well why Vernon was angry.

\--------

Iorveth mentally frowned as he attempted to contact Frida for the eightieth time. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Ves gave him some meat, which Iorveth was only able to eat half of.

\--------

The attack came out of nowhere. One moment, everything was fine in the Blue Stripes camp. The next, Scoia'Tael came out of nowhere and soon, they were crawling around everywhere.

Ves grabbed Meowveth and held him in one arm. He was shaking, and meowing like there's no tomorrow. That may be true for him in this situation. Ves buttoned up her uniform and stashed Meowveth in it, his head poking out. Ves went off to search for Vernon.

\--------

"Meowveth! Meowveth, where are you?!" Vernon called out over the crackling inferno, at the risk of attracting Squirrels. He noticed one of his soldiers crounching down, helping another up. "You two! Have you seen Meowveth?!"

"No! But Ves… I saw Ves in the north sector. Maybe he's with her…" The soldier, who had to be helped up due to an arrow wound in his thigh.

"Focus on driving the Squirrels out and making sure as little damage is done as possible!" Vernon barked out his orders before running off to find Ves. He knew she would be okay, but Meowveth is defenseless against even one particularly heartless elf. If he decides to grant him the mercy of death over Iorveth's abuse.

\--------

All this death, all this destruction, and Frida was numb to it. She was numb to it all. She couldn't bear to be anything else, might not even survive if she got emotional.

\---------

Ves picked Iorveth up again, after he had dashed into his little hidey-hole. He was scared, he found. Not just for himself, but for Ves, and Vernon, and Frida, and everyone here, both Scoia'Tael and Blue Stripes.

Iorveth just wanted this madness to end.

\---------

"Ves! Veees!" Vernon ran over to her, hugging her. "Are you alright?! I saw the explosion, are you-"

"I'm fine! Meowveth dashed off! Don't know where he is!"

"Damn it!" Vernon let go. "We need to find him!"

\--------

Iorveth curled up as small as he could, while still watching the events take place. An entire sub-squadron was dedicated to guarding Frida, who, in a few words, looked like absolute shit. She was absolutely filthy and bloody from torture. Her skin was badly sunburnt, thanks to her albinism. She was still in her pajamas, clearly having been kidnapped from her bed. Her hands were bound behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and her eyes…

Her eyes were haunted, full of guilt and sorrow.

One of the commandoes released her from her restraints. The others got ready to fight, pointing their weapons at Frida, but they didn't need to. Frida's arms hung limp at her sides, her mouth motionless. She didn't even seem to notice she's free.

"Track down Iorveth, dhoine-lover." Frida was commanded. Her arms moved in a wide arc, and she croaked out some magical words. A trail of purple light emitted from her hand to Iorveth. 

Iorveth hesitantly came out of his hiding spot. Frida paled as the commando ordered the others to hold. He crouched down before Iorveth and held him to his chest.

"Don't worry, sir. Frida can't hurt you again. We won't allow her to."

\--------

With all the magic, and the arrows, and the Scoia'Tael surrounding them, Vernon had no choice but to surrender.

"Vernon!" Ves yelled as Vernon put down his sword.

"Ves, we're surrounded, we're overrun, and we're just two people against who knows how many Squirrels." Vernon kicked away his sword and raised his hands, refusing to look up. "Everything will be okay. As long as we're alive."

"But…"

"Ves, surrender. That is an order."

Ves was still for a moment before dropping her sword and kicking it away. She raised her hands and sent a death glare to Frida. She never should have trusted that elf. She should have killed that spy when she had the chance. She didn't even care that that damned elf was tortured.

\------

As the Squirrels bound Vernon up, he vowed to get his revenge on Frida and her precious Squirrels. He didn't care that she was clearly a prisoner. She was a traitor.

Meowveth squeaked in the arms of a Squirrel and wriggled around. At least Meowveth was still loyal to them.

\-------

Frida, Ves, and Vernon were tied to different trees, so that they couldn't see each other. In the distance, the sounds of a party could be heard.

"Consider yourselves honored guests," A Squirrel had told them. "The trees are only for important prisoners."

Ves and Vernon were enraged by Frida's sobs. How dare she be upset over this?! She was the one who brought this on!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-betaread


	14. Chapter 14

Vernon struggled uselessly against his restraints once again. The elves had bound him tightly. Vernon huffed and gave up. He could still hear Ves trying to escape. At this point, Frida had stopped crying. In fact, she didn't seem to be moving. Vernon hoped she was dead.

Some Squirrels passed into Vernon's view, too far away for him to be able to do anything to them. They disappeared behind the tree Frida was tied to and started talking. Vernon couldn't make out their voices, but they sounded angry. Vernon strained his ears, and could just make out what Frida was saying.

"The curse… Iorveth… soulmate… has to say… needs to figure it out…"

So she was talking about Iorveth and his curse. But what did soulmates have to do with it? Vernon saw the guards leave. What did they want to know?

"Frida!" He called out once the guards were out of earshot. "What did they want?"

Frida was silent. Vernon thought she didn't hear him, but then she spoke up, barely enough for Vernon to hear. "Don't panic, but if they make you do anything to or with Meowveth, and the end result isn't what the gods want, they might get angry."

"What does that mean?" Vernon yelled. "What does that mean?!"

Frida was silent. Ves was still struggling against her bonds.

\--------

His people took turns, attempting to break the curse on him. Each time, Iorveth stayed in the form a cat. Iorveth huffed sadly. He didn't know what would happen to Ves if they found out she was his soulmate. Iorveth didn't want to risk her getting hurt if he could.

Everyone groaned and cursed as the last person in line tried and failed to lift Iorveth's curse. A few people broke some things that originally belonged to the Blue Stripes, but Iorveth didn't register it.

"Ugh, it's getting late. Let's just call it a day and go to bed." Iorveth heard someone suggest. The rest of the group mostly agreed and prepared to go to bed. Iorveth allowed someone to pick him up and carry him off to a warm tent, where they took off their clothes and went to sleep. Iorveth, however, didn't fall asleep. He waited until they were asleep, and the talking in the camp died down, before sneaking out of the tent.

Iorveth followed the scent of smoke and clean cotton, a smell he had grown to love. He followed it to his human, who at the moment was asleep. Iorveth meowed at him, rousing him from his light slumber.

"Huh? Meowveth?" Vernon groggily blinked and focused his attention on Iorveth. "Meowveth! I'm so happy to see you. Did you miss me?"

Iorveth meowed. _"Are you alright? Did they hurt you? Were you fed today?"_

"I would pet you, but I can't move much. I'm in a bit of a tight spot, you see. I'm tied to this tree here and I can't find a way to break free. I mean, if Ves can't do it, then I highly doubt I can."

Iorveth leaped into Vernon's lap and pressed his face into Vernon's tummy. It was covered by the armor he wore, but the meaning was clear. Vernon chuckled and cooed at Iorveth.

\--------

Blagos was angsting over everyone making fun of her name again as she patrolled around the perimeter of the improvised prison. She thumped the hilt of her sword against the ground, filled with a sudden bout of rage.

"Stupid bullies making fun of me… Stupid witch turning Iorveth into a fucking cat… Stupid everything…"

Blagos took a few deep breaths and sheathed her sword. There was a time and place for that, and this wasn't it. She decided to check in on the prisoners, see if any of them were attempting to escape.

Frida didn't seem to have even moved. Blagos held a waterskin to her, a silent offering, but Frida barely acknowledged it. Blagos huffed and moved on. Ves was still weakly struggling against her bonds.

"Hey. You thirsty?" Blagos pointed the waterskin to her. Ves groaned, but held her mouth open. Blagos gave her water until she pulled away. "Have you been trying to break free all night?" She corked the waterskin.

Ves didn't answer.

"Yeah, I don't really blame you. Not freeing you, though, so don't even ask."

"Fuck you." Ves raspily spat, literally and metaphorically.

Blagos kicked Ves hard enough to knock the wind out of her. She figured that would be enough of a lesson for her and walked away from her to check on Roche.

Iorveth was laying across Roche's lap, snoring softly. Roche himself was as bent over as he could manage in his bindings, though he could only tilt his head forward and maybe lift one shoulder off his tree at a time. Blagos silently approached and knelt down. She slid her hands under Iorveth, scooping him up to her chest. Blagos realized that he was still wearing the ribbon the dhoines gave him. She frowned and undid the knot, sliding it off with ease and pocketing it.

As Blagos stared at the sleepy Iorveth bundled up in her arms, she saw that there were several scars on Iorveth's back. Blagos was filled with anger. They were consistent with lash marks.

"Who would whip a kitten?" Blagos growled, quietly to allow Iorveth to sleep.

"Iorveth." It seems as though Roche woke up.

"What about him, dhoine?" If her hands weren't full, Blagos would have drawn her sword and pointed it at him.

"Iorveth would do that to a kitten."

Blagos stared at Roche, unable to comprehend his logic. Iorveth likes cats. Everyone in the Scoia'Tael knows that. "What?"

"Look at Meo-… the cat's back. He's clearly fallen victim to Iorveth's abuse. Iorveth even gouged out his eye to make him look like him."

Blagos looked at Iorveth's scarred face, his right eye sewn shut. The scar trailing from his eye down to his mouth was pink in color. "…So, you think Iorveth abused him." Iorveth yawned and opened his eyes.

"I don't think, I know." At the elf's face, he continued. "Think about it."

"Alright, let's assume Iorveth did abuse him." Blagos shifted Iorveth into one arm and drew her sword. "But why does he have lash scars, then?! No one in the Scoia'Tael uses a whip, it's forbidden! The Blue Stripes, on the other hand…" Blagos held the end of her sword to Roche's throat.

Roche swallowed. "He was already like that."

"Right, and I'm the late King Foltest." Blagos liked how Roche's face morphed at the mention of Foltest. Her interrogation was interrupted by Iorveth meowing up a storm and pawing at her. "What is it?"

"Heh. Cat won't let you kill me. He's loyal to the Blue Stripes."

Blagos slowly turned her head back towards Roche and stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Roche challeneged her by staring her in the eye, never blinking. Iorveth stopped wriggling around, tensing up and freezing.

"Um…" Blagos searched for a reply. "What makes you think that?"

"Because he clearly supports me, so by extension he supports the Blue Stripes. Didn't you see him on my lap?"

Blagos looked at Iorveth, then at Roche. "You clearly got hit in the head during the assault." She walked off, refusing to listen to Roche anymore. Iorveth squirmed in her grip.

"Well, Iorveth." Blagos sat down once she was put of earshot. She set Iorveth down on her lap, where he tried to stand up. "I never got a chance to try and break the curse, so here goes: I forgive you... for… leaving, I guess."

Blagos waited and waited for something to happen. But nothing happened. Iorveth was still a kitten. Blagos sighed and pet Iorveth. He clawed a little at her, and she got the hint. She stopped petting him and just set her hand down.


	15. Chapter 15

Iorveth dreamed he was a person.

He dreamed he was brushing the hair of his soulmate, the one he was meant to be with.

Iorveth's soulmate finally turned around and kissed him. Iorveth saw who it was. But Iorveth didn't remember.

\------

Iorveth awoke to one of his elves holding both him and a sword. On closer inspection, she was holding the sword to Vernon's neck. Iorveth closed his eyes once again.

Wait. Vernon?!

Iorveth shot up and didn't hesitate to distract her as best he could, screaming and pawing at her. The elf holding him reacted immediately. She lowered her sword in favor of attending to Iorveth. "What is it?"

"Heh. Cat won't let you kill me. He's loyal to the Blue Stripes." Iorveth heard Vernon say.

Iorveth froze. His head spun as he processed Vernon's words. He is loyal to the Scoia'Tael. But he's also grown quite fond of the raucious humans that made up the Blue Stripes. Specifically, Vernon, and Ves, and those nice soldiers that always gave him treats and pets. He didn't want to admit it, but he was even growing attached to them. But loyal?

The conversation continued without him. Blagos walked away, taking Iorveth with her. She tried, unsuccessfully, to lift his curse. But Iorveth knew she wasn't his soulmate. None of the Scoia'Tael were his soulmate.

His soulmate was one of the Blue Stripes.

\------

"Well, fuck. Literally everyone here has tried, but Iorveth's still a fucking cat."

The second-in-command had called a meeting for the Scoia'Tael on how to cure Iorveth. Said elf/cat was taking a nap on the table. Anyone who tried to pet him got nipped.

Blagos rubbed her temples. "At this rate, we'll need to start trying the prisoners."

Everyone stared at Blagos for a good ten seconds before someone responded. "Are you actually saying it could be one of those d'yeabl?!"

"It's worth a shot. Unless you know any better people or groups?"

Everyone remained silent.

"I'll take that as a no, then." Blagos acknowledged, standing up to poke Ioveth awake. "Iorveth. We're going to try having the prisoners forgive you. Maybe they'll break the curse. Who knows?"

If that didn't wake Iorveth up, the sudden screaming nearby did.

"WHERE THE FUCKING SHITBALLS IS FRIDA?!?!"

The noise sent Iorveth bolting.

\-------

Iorveth didn't think twice before running away from the camp. His kitty instincts told him to put as much distance between him and the loud noises, and to get back to Ves and Vernon. They would protect him.

Speaking of which, the "special prisoner" area was coming into view. Namely, Frida's shockingly white hair stood out to him. Iorveth slowed to a trot and sat a short distance away from Frida, glaring daggers at her.

"Iorveth." Frida gasped, lips cracking and bleeding. "You probably know by now that I cursed you. And… I guess you need an explanation."

Iorveth continued to stare at her, angry and yet curious.

"I… This will sounds ridiculous, but I was commissioned by the gods to. Specifically, around five." Frida swallowed the lump in her throat. "In no particular order, they were the Fates, the, um, the women of fate, a girl, a woman, and an old woman. Next, is Viruden, she's a minor god, doubt you've heard of her. Lastly, is a being I cannot fathom, and can barely speak with, but they have unimaginable power."

"Well, they didn't want me to curse you, per se. They hired me to… to ensure that… that you and your soulmate fall in love. You can't have your soulmate reveal if it is not viable for love to bloom, so you can't be with your soulmate, so the gods turned to me. I needed to change the situation drastically, so I watched you through my clairvoyance, and I waited for the right time for you to be away from the Scoia'Tael, while being close enough to a member of the Blue Stripes to be found by them. I formed a cursed ball of magic for you to find, powerful enough that the curse couldn't be broken except how I wish, and then I drew your attention to it. Later on, I observed the Blue Stripes send out advertisements, and I responded as quick as I could. I sold my services to Vernon for dirt cheap, and gave you your ribbon so that I could monitor you and your progress on the whole soulmate thing."

Iorveth stood up and took a step forward, as if saying "But how do I break this curse?"

Frida took a deep breath. "You can break the curse, but only with the help of your soulmate. You need to forgive him for everything he's done, and he needs to do the same for you." Frida huffed. "I was planning on telling him soon, y'know. But now…" Frida trailed off.

Iorveth, curiosity satisfied, turned and left without a sound.

"Go to him, Iorveth. You already know who it is. Break the curse with him."


	16. Chapter 16

Iorveth plopped down on the ground next to Vernon, with no clue how to make Vernon realize who he is. At times like these, he truly felt like giving up. Not just on his goal, but life in general.

"…And then some poor lad ran in, naked save for his smalls, into the room full of soldiers and nobility alike! Ha ha, I can't imagine what that poor boy must've felt!"

Either Iorveth was terrible at nonverbal communication, or Vernon was truly an idiot.

Luckily, the day was saved when Blagos and her crew came by. Blagos herself found Iorveth and scooped him up. She cooed at him for a little while before remembering who he is and stopping altogether.

"I wonder why you were with Roche… Well, since we're here, we might as well try him, next." Blagos put Iorveth down, facing Vernon. "Dhoine. You know the deal with Iorveth, right?"

"Of course I do. He's the greatest enemy I've ever had!" Vernon looked so indignified at the implication of Blagos' question. Iorveth would have felt flattered if he said that just a few months ago, but Iorveth could only feel sadness.

"Well, you need to forgive him."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

"You need. To forgive. Iorveth." Blagos punctuated the end of each sentence by intensifying her glare.

"Go fuck yourself." Vernon spat. Blagos kicked him in the diaphram, where she knew it would hurt the most.

"You're lucky this thing can't be forced, you know. Otherwise…" Blagos trailed off, leaving an unspoken warning. She stepped away from Vernon, keeping her hand out to make the others back up too. "Shout when you're done."

Once Blagos had left Vernon's sight, he turned back to Iorveth. "Well," Vernon breathed faster than normal to compensate for the lost air when Blagos kicked him. "They expect me… to forgive Iorveth."

Iorveth nodded vigorously, hoping Vernon wouldn't write it off as an odd kitty tic.

"Hahaha, you look silly like that. Are you a person stuck in a cat's body?"

Iorveth nodded again. In his peripheral vision, he could see the others watching closely.

Vernon stared at him, the smile falling from his face for a split second before he laughed again. "Oh, c'mere, you." Iorveth came forward and sat on Vernon's lap. "If only I wasn't bound up, I would give you as many pets as your heart desires."

Iorveth headbutted Vernon where his heart is, showing affection towards him.

"Oh, kitty-"

Iorveth pulled away, tail twitching in annoyance. However, he stayed seated on Vernon's lap.

"Aw, you don't like being called "kitty?" You've never had a problem with it before."

Iorveth nodded.

"You know, you're… something else. You bite me at the mention of Iorveth, but…" Vernon's attention was drawn to Iorveth batting lightly at his chest and then seemingly patting his own chest. "You… don't mind being called… Meowveth." Vernon's brows furrowed as he stared at Iorveth's face. "Can you… understand what I'm saying? Truly saying? As in, common tongue?"

Iorveth nodded vigorously.

"Did Iorveth abuse you?"

Iorveth shook his head.

"Then why do you have a scar identical to him? I can't think of any reason why the two of you would…"

Iorveth patted his face, just under his eye. It was the same eye Vernon had stared into during many a battle as they fought in a deadlock, never seeming to get a clear advantage or disadvantage. As Vernon stared into his eye, Iorveth could practically feel the swirling mixture of unidentifiable emotions Vernon was experiencing.

"Wait a minute… Transformation curse… small mammal…"

Iorveth headbutted Vernon again.

"Are you… Iorveth?"

Iorveth pulled away and nodded, meowing happily. Were he a person, he would have laughed at just how big Vernon's eyes were. Instead, he slowly closed his good eye and purred.

"You… You're… I… Fuck…" Vernon laughed without humor. "You're…" The reality of the situation creeped up on Vernon, forcing him to face the truth. "Oh, Melitele's tits, I don't know what to think…"

Iorveth reached up and placed his paw over Vernon's heart, feeling the pulse.

No words were uttered. Vernon and Iorveth gazed at each other for several painfully long seconds. Iorveth began to glow, softly at first, then he shone like the sun. Vernon almost missed the beginning of Iorveth's transformation. Iorveth's fur was the first to change, shortening and receding, except for the fur that would soon become his hair once again. Iorveth shifted around, refusing to break eye contact, allowing his legs to stretch out and elongate. Iorveth grew bigger, heavier, the last of his fur disappearing. Paws became hands and feet, muzzle flattening into beautiful elven features. His ears slid down, changing shape as they glided back into their proper place. Before he knew it, his transformation was complete. Iorveth was an elf again. A person. An uncursed, naked person who could talk, hold his bow, and express his love for Vernon freely.

No words were uttered. Vernon and Iorveth gazed at each other for several painfully long seconds. Both of them craved skin-on-skin contact, to simply feel each other. Iorveth clumsily wrapped his arms behind Vernon's neck and pulled the both of them together in a hug. Iorveth felt like crying from happiness.

No words were uttered. Vernon and Iorveth hugged for several seconds before Blagos walked silently to Iorveth and took off her coat. She leaned down and laid it over Iorveth's shoulders before stepping back. She knew Iorveth and Vernon needed a moment. Soulmates are a matter of dire importance, after all.

After quite some time, Iorveth hesitantly pulled away. The first thing he said was, "Free him and Ves and have the healers look over them."


	17. Chapter 17

"No, do NOT have me examined." Vernon objected as someone out of his view cut his bindings.

"They won't judge you. They're healers. They've seen it all." Iorveth cupped Vernon's cheek and looked him in the eye. He got off when Vernon was freed, standing on wobbly legs for a few seconds before collapsing on top of Vernon with a grunt.

"But-"

"Shh. No more fighting. I'll hold you at swordpoint if I must."

\------

Despite Vernon's fears, the healers did not judge him, not for his trans-ness, not for his race, and not for how skinny he was. Iorveth was sitting next to him the entire time holding his hand as the doctors looked him over and prescribed treatment to him. He thought it was weird, but Vernon found he didn't particulalry mind.

"…And don't wear a binder or armor for at least a few days, and never wear both at the same time, you got that?"

"Yes." Vernon responded.

"We will leave you to rest, then." The main healer stood up. "C'mon, we've more patients. Slavers struck again."

Once the healers had left, Vernon and Iorveth were stuck in an uncomfortable silence. Iorveth moved closer to Vernon, sitting next to him without once letting go of his hand. Vernon squeezed it tight, earning the same from Iorveth.

"You don't need to wear a binder if you wear armor, by the way. Chest armor compresses your tits." Iorveth broke the silence. It was the first thing he said to him since the curse was lifted.

"Oh, thanks." Vernon muttered.

Neither of them could think of anything else to say, so Iorveth simply laid down next to Vernon on the bedroll. Vernon squirmed. This level of intimacy with his former enemy was uncomfortable. Wonderful, but uncomfortable.

"I hope Ves is alright…"

"If anyone has come out of this unscathed, it's her." Iorveth reassured Vernon.

"What if-" Iorveth almost read his mind before Vernon could finish.

"She wasn't tortured. I saw her, she's fine."

Vernon sighed in relief. He ran his free hand through Iorveth's hair unconsciously, relishing in the purr he earned. He then cupped Iorveth's cheek. With Iorveth's nod of approval, Vernon traced the pink scar from his sewn eye to his perfect lips, unhindered by the softened cheekbones. His thumb lingered at the corner of Iorveth's pink, soft, fully kissable lips.

Oh, how Vernon wanted to kiss those lips.

"Vernon."

"Oh, uh, what?" Despite being startled out of his daydreams, Vernon did not remove his hand.

"Why did you have my eye sewn shut?"

"So you don't get an infection from having, you know…"

"It could have regrown. I could have gotten in back."

"That's wishful thinking, Iorveth." Vernon sighed and let go of Iorveth's face, failing to register the small whine eminated from Iorveth. "I don't have the energy to hold a conversation, much less argue."

"Mm, that's fair." Iorveth wrapped his arm around Vernon, cuddling close like a sleepy cat. Vernon looked at him odd for a split second before giving in to the wonderful sensation.

\-----

"Iorveth." Vernon poked Iorveth awake.

"Whaaaaat?" 

"Let go of me. I need to pee."

"Nooooooooooo…" Iorveth cuddled Vernon harder.

"I have to take a piss. Let. Go." Vernon emphasized the command with more pokes.

"Noooooooooooooooo…"

Vernon sighed. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice." Before Iorveth could process that, Vernon shoved his hands under Iorveth's thin shirt and began mercilessly tickling him.

"AH ha ha haaa! Sto-o-ohp!" Iorveth couldn't possibly contain his laughter. He giggled and giggled and tried to push Vernon's hand away to no avail. Vernon was too stubborn to let his hand be taken away, and Iorveth didn't want to stop hugging him.

"Not until you let go!" Vernon was smiling so wide his lips hurt, but he couldn't stop grinning.

Iorveth continued to laugh and laugh and laugh, until suddenly he poofed into his kitten form. Vernon stopped immediately, and Iorveth kitty-screamed.

"Oh, fuck, not again…" Vernon sighed and picked up the screaming kitten. He held him close to his chest and pet him soothingly. "Shhh, it's alright, we can fix this."

Minutes passed this way, and graudually Iorveth began to calm. With the warmth and pets he was receiving from his human, he couldn't help but allow his eyes to droop. Iorveth snuggled his head onto Vernon's collarbone, and his body relaxed.

Vernon struggled to keep Iorveth undisturbed as he shifted back into elf form. He fumbled everywhere on Iorveth's body, accidentally cupping his breasts at one point. Vernon had blushed hard and removed his hand immediately. Once Iorveth had fully transformed once again, Vernon held him tight and stroked his hair. He slid the discarded coat back onto Iorveth's shoulders and adjusted it until it covered his privates. Once satisfied, Vernon turned his attention back to Iorveth's hair. It was incredibly soft and fluffy, a side effect of the transformation.

Vernon just wanted to kiss Iorveth. He wanted to kiss the top of Iorveth's cute head, and claim him on a deeper level as his and only his. He wanted Iorveth to cuddle with him all day and kiss Vernon awake. He wanted Iorveth to claim him, with not marks but a kiss, as his very own. Vernon tore his gaze away from Iorveth and focused his attention on a paeticular blade of grass.

"Vernon…" Iorveth mumbled.

"What is it?"

"You still need to pee?"

With those words, Vernon was suddenly reminded of the pressure in his gut. "…Yes."

"M'kay." Iorveth rolled off Vernon, stealing warmth away. "Don't take too long. I'm already cold."

Vernon almost didn't want to get up, but he did so anyway. He sat up, back popping as he stretched, and wrapped Iorveth in the blanket they were both laying on. Vernon shivered, feeling as though the temperature had dropped well into the negatives. He wrapped his arms around himself and walked quickly. He just wanted to return to Iorveth and bask in the sweeth warmth he radiated, but his bladder demanded to be emptied.

He passed by a few patients on the way to Mother Nature's toilet. A pink-haired girl laid still on her animal skin. She was covered in a cold sweat and shaking her head slightly. Ves was sleeping on the other side of the medical area, hands bound behind her back. Vernon silently congratulated her for resisting at all times. A few other people, ones Vernon could clearly see were Scoia'Tael, were lying on better quality hides, with various injuries.

"One of them was injured by the pink-haired one. The others were patrolling, and they got ambushed." Blagos came up to Vernon and explained exactly what Vernon was not curious about.

"Oh, um, is this... is this the main camp?" Vernon shuddered. Was no one else affected by the cold?!

"Yes, it is." Blagos answered. "Where are you off to? Shouldn't you be-"

"I need to pee." Vernon blurted out 

"Oh, do you… wish for me to walk with you?" Blagos asked, fearing his soulmate's wrath.

"No… I'm… I'm fine." 

"Don't let me keep you, then." Blagos headed off to assist the healers, who were tending to an amputee.

Vernon rubbed his arms and headed off. He walked and walked until he was sure no one could possibly follow or even see him. He found a bush and went behind it, just in case. Vernon hiked up his dress, pulled down his trousers, and prepared to pee.

\-----

"Sir! Sir!!!" Blagos ran as quick as she could to Iorveth's side, a confused and worried Ves trailing behind.

"Ugh, what?" Iorveth rubbed the sleep out of his eye. 

"Your soulmate - he's gone!" Blagos shouted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you really think they were just going to be happy? You fools.


	18. Chapter 18

"Sir! Sir!!!" Blagos ran as quick as she could to Iorveth's side, a confused and worried Ves trailing behind.

"Ugh, what?" Iorveth rubbed the sleep out of his eye. 

"Your soulmate - he's gone!" Blagos shouted.

"What? What do you mean soulmate?! What's going on?! And why'd you just free me?" Ves stomped up to Blagos and looked to her and Iorveth.

"Oh no, Vernon!" Iorveth shot up. He attempted to stand, blankets wrapping around him and tripping him. He wriggled his way free and stood up. Fear was written all over Iorveth's face as he led Blagos and Ves out of the medical area.

"Seriously, what the fuck is going on?!" Ves shouted as Iorveth practically kicked the door down into the "commanding place," which was really just a glorified treehouse with a map inside. "I need answers!"

"Have you looked for him?" Iorveth asked Blagos, ignoring Ves.

"Everywhere! Either he ran away or…" Blagos trailed off.

"Dammit…" Iorveth kicked a basket, wincing when it naturally hurt his foot. "When was he last seen?"

"Leaving the medical area to go into the forest. Ves was asleep at the time."

"Again, will someone please give me some answers?" Ves looked to Blagos for any clue as to what was happening.

"Vernon is Iorveth's soulmate, and he's gone missing."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't yell…" Iorveth clutched his head.

"I wasn't expecting it either, but destiny chose them to be together. There's nothing we can do about it."

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?! WHY????" Ves screamed.

Iorveth was hit by a sudden migraine, followed by a bursting in his nose. He doubled over, Blagos catching him before he fell. Something trickled down his nostrils, something warm and wet. But the pain was too much for Iorveth to even notice.

Blagos sat him down and massaged his temples, but the pain was only made worse. Iorveth started crying. This was the worst pain he has ever experienced, and he couldn't even put a cause to it! No matter what he did, the migraine just kept getting worse and worse! He just wanted to take a knife and stab his own head with it, he was desperate for any sort of relief!

\-----

When Frida was being escorted, she expected to see Iorveth. However, she didn't expect to see him screaming and bleeding while Ves and some other elf restrained him. The other elf took the knife out of his hand and chucked it across the room before holding Iorveth down again.

One of her guards ordered the other to stay with her while he assisted Ves and the elf woman. He was shushing Iorveth, telling him that the pain will pass soon, but Iorveth likely couldn't hear him over the sound of his screaming.

"Um, I witnessed Vernon Roche being kidnapped!" Frida called out in the hopes that Iorveth could hear.

"TELL ME!!!! I NEED YOU TO FUCKING TELL ME!!!" Iorveth screamed at the top of his lungs.

"He was kidnapped by slavers! They attacked him when he… let his guard down. They took him away somewhere, I don't know where." Frida attempted a spell to calm Iorveth down, but her magical facilities were completely shot.

Once Iorveth processed what Frida said, he froze and paled. Then, he burst into tears. The elves and Ves let go of him, allowing him to curl up into a ball and cry. The guard with Frida nudged her forward into the room.

"May I examine Iorveth? Soulmates and anything relating to them are my specialty." Frida looked to her guards. They allowed her to approach Iorveth and cast a scanning spell on him, albeit with her at swordpoint. "Oh, no…"

"What?"

"His condition is deteriorating faster than I have ever seen before." Frida stopped casting the spell.

"Um, condition?" Ves looked at Frida strangely.

"Blagos, do you mind explaining for me? I need to cast a spell."

"Spell? What kind?" Blagos asked suspiciously.

"One to delay and hopefully reverse his condition for now." Blagos explained as she prepared her spell.

"If she tries anything, knock her out." Blagos ordered the guards. Then, she turned to face Ves. "You see, when two people are soulmates, they will inevitably discover this, usually through dreams. After they discover their soulmate, they have to maintain skin-on-skin contact. This is to ensure that they actually get together and love each other. If they don't touch each other, both of them will experience negative side effects until they touch again. If they only stop touching for a short time, then they will experience side effects such as an aversion to touch from everyone except their soulmate, perpetually feeling cold, headaches, and stomach pain. If they go a long time without touching, then," Blagos glanced at Iorveth. "You get that. If they go too long, then they will both die. Usually, this only happens after a week passes without touch, but…"

"So… Ver- Commander Roche will die?"

"If he doesn't reunite with Iorveth." Blagos pat Ves' arm, sending sparks between both of them. "We won't let it get to that. I promise."

"Don't make promises you might not be able to keep." Ves stood up.

Frida finished her work. Iorveth calmed down almost immediately. However, he still felt so sick he was unable to stand. Frida half-carried him over to the map, in the center of the room. Ves helped him stand upright as he stood over the map.

"Tell me everything you know about Vernon's disappearance, and the slavers." Iorveth was done moping. Rage filled him as he thought about how Vernon had been taken away. He would get him back. For nothing could stop Iorveth once he set his mind on something.

\-----

"Get up."

"Ugh, five more minutes…" Viruden turned over, fumbling for a blanket. Something kicked her hard in the ribs, forcing her to fully wake up. "Okay, okay, I'm getting up…"

Viruden was dragged to her feet by the burly guards. They wasted no time in shackling her and shoving a gag into her mouth. Viruden headbutted one guard, but to no avail. She just hurt her own head.

The guards dragged a kicking and almost-screaming Viruden into a treehouse full of people. Viruden could have jumped for joy when she saw Frida was alive, then she deflated when she saw how much effort she was putting into keeping Iorveth from secreting his own brain from his nose.

"Just keep holding still, Iorveth. I've done this before. You're going to be okay, you're in good hands." Frida reassured Iorveth as he held rags to his nostrils. Iorveth looked relieved when he noticed Viruden. Frida followed his gaze and smiled. The guards took the gag out of Viruden's mouth.

"Hey." Was all Viruden could say.

"I'm so glad you're in one piece…" Frida began, but suddenly changed her train of thought. "What the fuck were you thinking, just assaulting the main Scoia'Tael camp all by yourself?! Did you even have a plan?!"

"Frida…" Iorveth groaned nasally.

"Sorry." Frida spoke in a quieter tone. "But, Viruden, seriously, what the fuck?"

"You were gone." Viruden clammed up. Frida raised an eyebrow, accidentally aggravating her sunburn. "You want me to heal that?"

"No. We're going to need all the energy we can get." Once Frida had established that Iorveth wouldn't die if she removed herself, she guided Viruden to the table. "Anyone mind releasing her? She's important."

Iorveth gave a thumbs up to Viruden's guards. They grudgingly unlocked her shackles, freeing her. Viruden rubbed her wrists. "So, uh, there a reason for us being here or are we just having a party up in here?"

"I wish it was a party…" Ves muttered. Blagos nodded in agreement.

"Vernon Roche was kidnapped, and I'm dying." Iorveth spoke up. "I formed a plan to get him back."

"Let me explain it to Vir-" Frida was interrupted by Iorveth loydly shushing her.

"I'm not a piece of glass. I won't break at the slightest strain." Iorveth glared at her and then pointed to the map on the table. "Slavers kidnapped Vernon here, and if my scouts aren't mistaken, they have taken or are taking him to a battleship docked around here-" Iorveth pointed to a c-shaped river. "Where they keep captured people, usually nonhumans but humans too if it serves their disgusting purposes. We will stage an assault on this ship. One of our humans will infiltrate, disguising themself as one of their own. Then, they will weaken the slavers from the inside, disabling weapons, setting up explosives, etcetera. Once our human gives the signal, or if they get discovered, we will pour all of our people into surrounding and attacking the ship. We will confuse them, divide them-" Iorveth fell into a coughing fit. He hunched over the table as Blagos ran to his side and Frida drew on her magic reserves. Splatters of blood landed on the map and stained it crimson.

"Is he okay?" Viruden was acting rather nonchalant for the situation.

"NO!!!" Everyone in the room screamed at once. Viruden shrunk back. Everyone else was focusing on Iorveth, trying to help in some way, shape, or form. Blagos thumped his back, Ves held a handkerchief to his mouth, Frida casted spells, and the guards helped support him.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is so bad." Frida muttered as more and more blood dripped from Iorveth's mouth.

"Why aren't you helping him?!" Blagos turned and yelled at Frida.

"Believe me, I'm trying!" The yelling put Frida on edge, inciting panic within. "If he dies, I die too! The gods will obliterate me if he doesn't get with Roche!"

"But they had their soulmate thingy?" Viruden was confused by how much Frida was panicking. She never showed much in the way of body language, but Viruden could read her like an open book. "Shouldn't that be enough?"

"No! The gods want them to be together for the rest of their natural lives! They paid me to bring them together, and if they die, they won't fucking hesitate to kill me and make my soul rot for all eternity!"

"Wait, what?!" Ves stared at Frida as she placed her glowing hands to Iorveth's chest.

"Tell you later! When Iorveth and Roche aren't dying!"

"Uh… shouldn't… someone get an actual medic?" Viruden was the only person in the room calm enough to use common sense and it showed. However, her words fell on deaf ears.

"How long does he have?"

"Fuck, an hour or two at the most."

"Shit!"

"Oh shit, does that mean Vernon will die soon?!"

"No one's going to die!"

"ENOUGH!" Viruden unleashed her power, sending shockwaves of psychic energy throughout. "Unless we get a move on, Iorveth will soon perish! Now, does anyone know how to pinpoint Vernon's specific location?"

For a moment, everyone was silent. Then, Ves spoke up. "Wilkinson can use clairvoyance to locate him."

"My efforts are focused on keeping Iorveth alive, I can't afford to divide my attention."

"Mm, that's fair." Blagos agreed. "Viruden's a sorceress too, so-"

"I don't know how, if that's what you were about to ask. I mostly know glamours, combat magic, and transformation."

"Shit… Well, as I am Iorveth's second in command, and he is currently incapacitated," Blagos glanced at Frida and Iorveth, who had retreated away from the map. "I will handle everything. Ves, you get the Blue Stripes to work with us. Viruden, can you cast glamours on everyone?"

"Yeah."

"Then make us all invisible. Frida, keep Iorveth alive at all costs."

"That's what I was already doing!"

"Good. Keep doing it. Any questions?" Blagos was met with silence. "Let's move out, then."


	19. Chapter 19

"The scouts-" Blagos stepped into Iorveth's tent, where Frida and several medics are tending to him. "Have found your soulmate."

"Where?" Iorveth and Frida asked at the same time.

Blagos rolled out a map and pointed to a spot on it. "The slavers have taken him here, to where they are camping. I don't know why they've set up camp when it's only noon, but we need to take advantage of it, before it's too late."

"How fast can we set up an attack?" Iorveth asked without looking up.

"Fifteen to thirty minutes."

"Can't you make it-" Iorveth gasped and clutched his abdomen. "They're hurting him! They're fucking hurting him! When I get my hands on them, I will personally skin those motherfuckers alive!"

"Wait, you're feeling his pain?! At this distance?!" Frida looked at Iorveth with bulging eyes. "Oh shit… Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit… Only outright torture could carry across the soulbond at this distance… The gods will have my head for this."

"Did someone say… gods?" Viruden entered the tent with a cheesy grin and sunglasses on her face. She was about to show off her godly talents when she realized everyone was staring at her with looks that said this wasn't the time for jokes. "…Did I… choose a bad time?"

"Yes!" Everyone in the tent shouted at once.

"Oh…" Viruden blushed and scratched the back of her head. "Um, I'm done with the thing…"

"Good. Anything else?" Blagos inquired.

"Nope." Viruden popped the "p" in nope. "Guess I'll be heading out, now."

"I will join you, if Iorveth doesn't have any objections…" Blagos looked to Iorveth for permission.

"Do… do whatever it takes… to get him back…" Iorveth went into a coughing fit at the end of his sentence. Once he was done, he got up, ignoring the protests of the healers. "Actually, I'll join you. Wanna rescue him myself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Blagos furrowed her eyebrows.

"It might just be." Frida spoke with a slightly raspy voice. "Getting closer to him will help them not die as fast. Of course, the effects are minimal, but at this stage anything helps. He just needs to stay out of combat and he will be fine."

"See? She agrees with me."

"Ugh, I guess I can't go against it, if that's what you want…" Blagos turned around and joined Viruden the tent, muttering: "Dunno why you like that witch so much…"

"Hey hey hey, she might be a weird, ridiculous, pathetic mortal like the rest of you, but she's my weird, ridiculous, pathetic mortal!" Viruden interjected.

"Wasn't talking to you."

"Oh…" Viruden cursed the combination of distance from mortals and good old-fashioned autism that made her socially inept and awkward.

\-----

Some healers had left, some had their backs turned. In any case, no one was looking. Iorveth checked his surroundings one last time, then he kissed the back of his hand.

"Hang in there, I'm coming…"

\-----

Frida finally collapsed onto the ground. Combined with the previous hardships, her over-casting spells had completely drained her. She couldn't even produce sparks, much less cast life-support spells.

\-----

"…Division three, go around. Four is with me. Any questions?" Ves was greeted with silence. "Dismissed."

The Blue Stripes soldiers got up and left to join their temporary siblings-in-arms. They didn't like working with the Squirrels, but they were loyal to Ves, and Vernon Roche by extension. Speaking of Squirrels, one evaded the crowd and joined Ves.

"I trust there are no problems?" Blagos asked rhetorically.

"Yes, everything's good to go. Hopefully no fights break out." Ves sat down, Blagos joining her and staying a little too close to her.

They sat in awkward silence before Blagos spoke up. "We searched everywhere for Iorveth. No one could have possibly thought he was enjoying life as a cat under the Blue Stripes… We observed Wilkinson regularly traveling back and forth between her home and the base and we… well, we kidnapped her. At the time, we didn't know her connection to Iorveth, but we were desperate."

"Ah…" Ves nodded in understanding. "Wait. He was our cat?"

"Yep. Cursed in that form by Wilkinson. Only if he and his soulmate, Roche, forgave each other would the spell be broken."

"That explains all the commotion I heard earlier." Ves got up. "Got any snacks you're willing to share?"

"Yes, we certainly do." Blagos smiled and led Ves out. "I'm feeling a bit hungry as well. Let me treat you to something special, to make up for earlier."

\-----

Viruden panicked as she scanned Frida. Her vitals were dropping, and fast. Viruden had no choice but to jump from Selena's body to Frida's, feeding her magic and energy into Frida's flesh

\-----

Vernon could just barely make out the feeling of light, fluttering touches on the back of his hand. He smiled anyway, pushing through the pain. Somehow, he knew everything was going to be okay.

\-----

Iorveth crouched down, the people with him following his lead. Elves, dwarves, and humans alike joined forces to save their respective leaders from certain death. Iorveth glared daggers at the patrolling scumbags. As much as he craved the feeling of crushing their throats with his bare hands, he needed to stick to the plan. It was the best way to get Vernon out safe and-

"Squirrels!" A voice cried out from the other side of the camp. Iorveth cursed and signalled their assault with a whistle.

Immediately, their forces attacked at once. Arrows whistled through the air as ground soldiers charged with a battle cry. Iorveth decapitated a slaver, then killed another. Rage and despertion pumped through his veins as he fought his way through.

Iorveth barely noticed the arrow that had grazed him. He deflected yet another one. He nimbly stepped to the side and stabbed yet another slaver. He was ready to rip apart every single stain on this world, when a flash of blue entered his vision.

"Cease this attack, or he will die!" A fancy man with gold jewelry, presumably the leader, had grabbed Vernon by the shackles and pressed a knife against his throat so hard he was already drawing blood.

Fear choked Iorveth. Even when the slaver hadn't noticed him, he felt terror, despair, panic all at once. His heart thudded in his chest, and before he knew it, he had turned into a kitten once again.


	20. Chapter 20

Iorveth wasted no time in wriggling out of his garments. He shucked off the offending clothes and assessed the situation. Okay, he was staging an assault on a slaver camp, and he was a kitten. What could he possibly do now?

Wait a minute! He incapacitated three soldiers in quick succession in this form! He might be deadlier as a small bundle of fur than in his elf form! With that realization, Iorveth spee up to the slaver and leaped up his armor. Iorveth bit the hand holding the knife clean through. Huh. It was just like killing a mouse.

"Aah, fuck!" The slaver dropped his knife.

Vernon took this opportunity to headbutt the slaver. He tumbled back, yanking Vernon down with him. Iorveth jumped off before he went with them. He turned around and mauled the slaver so badly his buddies could only watch in horror, and run.

Vernon watched, unsurprised by Iorveth's super kitten bloodlust, before fishing the corpse for a key. Iorveth found it and unlocked Vernon's shackles one by one. The now-free Vernon took the knife and ran with a scream towards the nearest slaver, Iorveth sprinting to catch up. By the time Iorveth reached him, Vernon had already killed the slaver.

"Hey Meow- Iorveth." Vernon bent down to pet Iorveth. Their shared pain faded immediately, and they could feel the damage reversed, but Iorveth could still feel Vernon's abdominal pain. If it weren't for the spells, he wouldn't even be able to sit up. The pain was truly engulfing. "Here to save little old me, huh?"

Iorveth happily mewled and climbed up Vernon's pant leg. Vernon helped him up to his shoulders, giving him his hair to hold onto before taking a sword and charging back into battle. The slavers standing their ground sneered and sniggered at the sight, a man with a kitten on his shoulder trying to fight, but their amusement didn't last long. Iorveth threw himself claws-first at a slaver, then another, then another. He was taking on the entire camp, unassisted save for Vernon chucking him at enemies. It was a truly bloody affair. Hundreds of years from now, they would tell tales of this day, of how a single kitten slaughtered an entire slaver camp through rage and claws.

Vernon watched on as Iorveth practically became a tornado of fur and blood. He had to admit, he was damn impressed. But now he couldn't feel the heat of battle, or the pain-numbing adrenaline. Vernon clutched his tummy and winced. He was in so much pain.

\-----

Iorveth breathed deep as the last slaver fell. He resisted the urge to lick himself clean as he trotted over to where Vernon was standing, leaning against a tree and massaging his belly. Iorveth meowed. Vernon turned to him and smiled. He slid down to the ground and pat his thigh. Iorveth laid down on his lap, heartbeat already slowing.

"I assume you coordinated this attack?" Vernon chuckled and rubbed Iorveth's back. "Still can't believe you're Iorveth, terrorist, bandit, and long-time enemy of mine…"

Iorveth rolled over and presented his belly to Vernon. As soon as Vernon started rubbing it, he set off the trap. Iorveth pawed at Vernon's hand and brought it up to his mouth, nibbling ever-so-gently while mewling happily. Vernon gasped. It was too adorable.

"Awww, Iorveth, how are you so cute?" Vernon gave Iorveth head and chin scritches as he cooed. "How are you so cute?"

Iorveth released his grip on Vernon's hand in favor of rolling back over and resting his head on Vernon's lap. He savored the pets he was receiving. The sensations created were exponentially stronger thanks to their soulmate bond. Iorveth began transorming back into his elf form, Vernon shifting his arm to accomodate the elf sprawled across his lap. Vernon moved Iorveth around and lifted him up. He carried him into a hiding spot, where no one would be able to see Iorveth's body.

Iorveth hugged Vernon tight, unashamed of his own nudity. Vernon, however, was all too aware of how hot he was becoming. His entire body flushed as he registered the situation.

"What's wrong?" Iorveth pulled away and frowned.

"Oh, um, nothing, nothing. It's just…" Vernon gestured to Iorveth's body, absolutely refusing to look anywhere but his eye.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"…Are you fucking kidding me?!" Vernon flushed even redder. "Don't make me say it!"

"Say what?"

"You're naked!" Vernon turned away and blushed as hard as physically possible.

"…And?"

"Do you elves seriously have no decency or shame?! Do you just run around naked?!"

Iorveth stared at Vernon, then he laughed. "Oh, you dhoines and your delicate sensibilities. I had forgotten how obsessed with sex and bodies your race is. To answer your questions, no and no. We don't make a big deal out of nakedness, but we don't flaunt anything, either. If someone sees us naked, they see us naked and carry on. But I'll put something on for you." Iorveth got up and speedwalked away, already eager to get back to Vernon. He shivered and rubbed his arms as he went.

He had collected his clothes from Blagos when a wave of pain hit him. He stumbled over, feeling dizzy and nauseous. He almost dropped his clothes.

Oh gods. What did they do to Vernon?

"Sir? Sir! What's wrong?!"

"Get the most compassionate medics to Vernon immediately." Iorveth could barely put his dress on with his shaky hands, but nevertheless he managed.

He almost tripped over his own two feet in his rush. Blagos ran off in search of said medics. When Iorveth reached the spot Vernon was in, he found that Vernon was standing, with his back turned towards him. But that wasn't what made Iorveth fly into a panic. A large spot of blood stained the skirt of Vernon's dress, right where his genitals were. Iorveth hugged Vernon from behind and started sobbing.

"VERNON I'M SO SORRY AS SOON AS WORD GOT OUT YOU WERE KIDNAPPED WE STARTED PLANNING YOUR RESCUE AND WE WENT AS QUICK AS WE COULD BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH AND I'M SO SORRY VERNON I'M SO SORRY!!!!!"

"Um…" Vernon shifted around in Iorveth's grip until he was facing him. He hugged him back, patting him. "It's… It's okay, I'm fine."

"I SAW THE BLOOD!!! I CAN LITERALLY FEEL YOUR PAIN!!! I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T RESCUE YOU IN TIME, I SHOULD HAVE JUST-!!!" Iorveth gripped Vernon tighter and devolved into a mess as fat tears fell from his face.

"Iorveth!"

"I'M SO SORRY I'M SO SORRY I'M-!!!"

"Iorveth! I'm unhurt! It's just…" Vernon looked around to ensure no one was listening in. "Let's lay down, it'll hurt less."

Iorveth sniffled and let Vernon guide him down until he was laying next to him, arms wrapped around Vernon in a protective hold. Vernon sighed and let Iorveth tuck his head into his neck. Admittedly, nuzzling into Iorveth's neck felt good. His pain even dulled.

"You know that time when you smelled that Ves was bleeding from her vagina, and you freaked out and clawed everyone that went near her except for me?"

"Mm-hm."

Vernon took a second to think about how to explain it. "Well, uh, once a human with a vagina hits puberty, their body changes in order to be able to have children."

"Knew about that…" Iorveth started running his fingers through Vernon's hair.

"At some point, humans, and judging by your reaction elves don't go through this, humans have their uterus develop a lining on the inside in preparation for pregnancy. If it turns out they're not having a baby, the lining breaks down and sloughs off, making bleeding occur. The blood and lining exit the body through the vagina, often for a continuous period of around four days to a week. We humans call this "menstruation," a "period," or "being on the rag." Ves was going through her period at the time, and I'm having mine right now. I knew as soon as I got menstrual cramps, which you must be feeling as well. Periods occur on a monthly basis, ending when we grow old."

"So… you… weren't raped?"

"No."

"You have no idea how much of a relief that is." Iorveth smiled slightly and snuggled into Vernon. "Wait… you dhoines with uteruses have monthly internal hemorrages?"

"Uh, yeah. Don't worry, it's usually not bad enough to warrant needing to go to the doctor."

"So what you're saying is that dhoines have their uteruses literally tear themselves apart as revenge for not getting pregnant, then these dhoines just… do whatever they do to not let the bleeding show, and then just go about their lives, like they've had far worse? All while chunks of their uterus fall out of their vagina?!"

Vernon sincerely laughed. "Finally, someone gets it!" He nuzzled into the crook of Iorveth's neck.

"…You dhoines… Why are you so impractical? You might die from too much blood loss." Iorveth hid his concern under judgement.

"Aw, it sounds like you care about me." Vernon sat up, letting Iorveth hold on. "Come on, the others might get worried."

\-----

Later, after Vernon had gotten changed and had borrowed a menstrual pad from Ves, he joined Iorveth in his private treehouse. Iorveth was laying on a bedroll, dozing with an extra blanket on him. He fully awoke when Vernon stepped in.

"Took you long enough. Food delivery came by while you were changing." Iorveth gestured to the meal for two beside him, bread and cheese with apple juice and some pastries with purple and blue icing.

"Not really hungry, so…" Vernon laid down next to Iorveth, lifting up the blanket and shimmying under. Now that he was touching Iorveth again, he felt warm. Comfortable. Safe.

"But you will eat." Iorveth slid a plate towards him. "Gods know you don't eat enough."

"I'm not hungry."

"You're so skinny I can easily count your ribs. At least have a few bites!" When Vernon didn't respond, Iorveth huffed and held a pastry to Vernon's mouth. "You can have dessert first, if you want. As long as you eat."

"Make me."

"No. You will eat, and you will eat willingly."

Vernon turned over and faced away from Iorveth. "Not. Hungry. Besides, if I eat too much in a day I get sick."

Iorveth looked at the small proportions of the food, then back to Vernon. "Even that much?"

"Yep."

Iorveth tore a bite-sized piece off the pastry. "Tell you what, I feed you a little at a time, and you tell me when you've had enough. Deal?"

"…Deal." Vernon let Iorveth place the piece in his mouth. Vernon chewed slowly, savoring the taste of wild berries. "Mm. This is good."

"Thank you. It's my family recipe. I come from a long line of bakers." Iorveth kept feeding Vernon, smiling each time he ate.

"Bakers?" Vernon let out a laugh. "Bakers?"

"Yes, bakers. Ninth-generation." Iorveth let go of Vernon's hand, which he didn't even realize he had been holding. "Why's that so funny to you?"

"Haha, sorry, it's just… I wasn't expecting you to be from a family with such a peaceful profession. I mean, you're the biggest face in the Scoia'Tael, your wanted posters are everywhere!"

"Yeah, well," Iorveth fed Vernon the last of the pastry. "They… aren't exactly proud of me…"

Vernon squeezed Iorveth's hand. "You want me to feed you, now?"

"Sure."

Vernon reached over with his free hand and plucked the remaining pastry. He tore a chunk off and put it in Iorveth's mouth. "How did you come to join the Scoia'Tael?"

Iorveth finished chewing before speaking. "Let's just say I was angry, and hurt, and leave it at that."

Vernon knew better than to press. "So what do you like to do in your free time?"

"Go on walks, swim, play my recorder… Want to hear a song?"

"Sure."

"I might be a little rusty…" Iorveth grabbed his recorder at sat up. He wet his lips before playing a beautiful melody, just for Vernon.

Vernon couldn't stop smiling and blushing throughout the song. He sat up and hugged Iorveth, laying his head on his shoulder. By the time Iorveth had finished playing, Vernon had been lulled to sleep with a small smile on his face.

"Just like a sleepy puppy…" Iorveth muttered. He lowered Vernon down, careful not to disturb him, before checking him for a binder. Satisfied there was none, Iorveth laid down too, letting his head rest between his breasts and his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wild berry pastry and the puppy comment are both references to Nocturniqutte's fics.


	21. Chapter 21

Vernon awoke from his nap to the face of a sleeping, scarred elf. The hard scowl on Iorveth's face had relaxed, giving him a peaceful, serene vibe. His lips were parted in his sleep, drawing far more of Vernon's attention than what he normally would have given.

What he would give to kiss Iorveth.

Vernon reached up and pushed a tuft of hair out of Iorveth's face, revealing the pink scar framing his face. He tucked the hair behind Iorveth's ear, smiling slightly as he did so. Iorveth opened his eye, relaxing when he realized it was only Vernon.

"Morning."

"Good morning." Vernon muttered. "Wait… is it morning?"

"Wait, it might be nighttime…" It was not. The sun was still shining. "It's been twelve hours, right?"

"Yeah, think so." Vernon stretched to the best of his ability. "Can't believe it's been a week…"

"I thought was sunday…" Iorveth sat up.

"No, it's wednesday." It was friday. "Wait a minute… what year is it?"

Iorveth pursed his lips in thought. "Uhhh, 2275? That sound right?"

"…Yeah, that sounds right." Vernon reached over to the cool, somewhat-fresh bread and ate a small piece, ignoring his throat's protests. "I'm actually hungry for once."

"Wow, I bet everyone's dead now…"

Vernon paused mid-chew, then continued until he swallowed. "Wait a minute, this isn't right… Everyone should have attained immortality by now."

"Good thinking! Our friends should still be alive! Let's go see them!"

"Nooooo…" Vernon grabbed onto both Iorveth and the sheets with a death grip. "It's warm here…"

"Ok, puppy." Iorveth snuggled up to Vernon again.

"…Am I a dog?"

"I dunno." And with that, Iorveth was out like a light.

\-----

"Can't believe they're finally getting along."

"It only took a powerful curse, a soulmate bond, slavers, and a kidnapping to get then to stop fighting!" Viruden joked as people of both the Scoia'Tael and the Blue Stripes sat around a bonfire and ate their rations. Some were even trading snacks with the opposing faction.

"Yeah, Roche and Iorveth were such hard-headed idiots for it to get to that point." Selena scratched an itch. "Even the Fates wanted them to stop fighting. How are they, by the way?"

"Oh, the Fates? Same stubborness as always. But they're happy, at least for now."

"That's good. How's Frida holding up?"

"Me possessing her is making her regenerate super quick, bur it's also making her super hungry." Viruden remarked as she bit into a piece of meat. "Onshe I geh ouh, she'sh gon' be super shleepy."

"Yeah, I know. You possess me on a regular basis. Man, I still can't believe a goddess likes to possess me."

"You ARE one of my favourite mortals, after all."

\-----

"And then I said, "Just pull up your fucking pants!" And then his face - oh, you should have seen his face!" Blagos and Ves were doubled over laughing, pounding the ground with their fists. "He- he was so red! And his eyes were just-" Blagos fell into another laughing fit at the mental image.

"If I- if I- if I had known that- that you had the best stories, I would have made an effort to get to know you a long time ago!" Ves wiped away the tears that had formed. "Oh, I bet he never lived that down!"

"Nope, he did not!"

"That reminds me of the time one of our soldiers got turned into a frog. Dunno what happened, but he was the type to sexually harass people until they use violence against him. Man, was it hilarious to watch him hop around!"

"What kind of stuff did he do?"

Ves took a deep breath and rubbed her hands together.

\-----

"…How are we going to make this work?" Vernon thought aloud.

"The thing between us?" Iorveth asked as he tugged the brush through Vernon's hair. It was surprisingly intimate.

"Yeah. I'm Blue Stripes, you're Scoia'Tael. We're on opposing factions."

Iorveth was quiet as he worked through a tangle. "…We could make it work."

"I know, I'm just asking how."

"Maybe…" Iorveth paused his brushing. "We could declare a truce between our particular units?"

"I mean a long-term solution, one my higher-ups will accept."

"…We can just… make our respective soldiers avoid each other?" Iorveth suddenly found a knot in Vernon's hair that required several minutes of brushing.

"You know that won't work. Our soldiers will start questioning us, wondering why we're avoiding a particular group when it would be far more advantageous to simply attack them and gain the upper hand."

"We can just…" Iorveth gripped the handle of the brush tight. "Make our relationship public."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm in the closet." Vernon sighed. "Let's… let's talk about this later."

"Yeah, sure." Iorveth continued to brush Vernon's hair, albeit with less energy.


	22. Chapter 22

Iorveth refused to let go of Vernon's hand, much to the dismay of said human and the amusement of their soldiers. Other than a few comments, which were quickly shot down by Iorveth's death glare, everyone seemed to be supportive of their budding relationship. However, Vernon was still troubled.

"Bet they're making fun of us…" Vernon mumbled as a small group of soldiers nearby laughed.

"I bet they're not." Iorveth rolled his eye. "Come on, let's sit by the fire."

Vernon reluctantly let Iorveth lead him to the bonfire. It wasn't as busy as earlier, but there were still plenty of people sitting around. They offered a passing look at the new couple, then they went back to whatever they were doing.

"I'm glad your cramps are easing…" Iorveth rubbed his own tummy.

"Thanks." After a beat, Vernon turned to Iorveth and whispered, "Wait, you can't just say that in public! What if one of my soldiers knows what you're talking about?!"

"Relax. They're mostly straight male and cis dhoines. They don't even know anything beyond eating, sleeping, fighting, and fucking."

"Mm, true. Still…"

Iorveth reached over and rubbed Vernon's tummy and decided to change the subject. "I like your hair, by the way."

"Thanks. I got that impression when you refused to stop eating my hair in the middle of the night. I had to get a haircut because of you." Vernon laughed at the memory.

"Wasn't intentional. I was a cat, I had to chew on your hair."

"You were a cute kitty."

Iorveth puffed his cheeks and pouted. "I wasn't cute."

"Tell that to Ves." Vernon smirked and pointed to said person.

Iorveth leaned over and saw her laughing with his second-in-command, leaning far too close to each other. He silently approved, directing his attention back to Vernon. "I have a huge scar on my face that transfers over to my cat form."

"I've always liked scars."

"I was always hurting you!"

"I chalked that up to a cat being a cat."

"I was always rejecting you!"

"Like I said, a cat being a cat."

"I put three people in the hospital!"

Vernon had a confused look on his face. Then, he broke out in laughter. "I forgot you did that! Oh, that should've been the first sign you weren't just a cute little kitten."

"I was never cute or little!" Iorveth looked away and covered the exposed part of his face with his free hand.

"Hey, are you blushing?"

"No I'm not!" Iorveth curled up into a ball.

"You're so adorable I'm gonna die!" Vernon pulled Iorveth into a big, warm hug. "Ohhhhh, you're the cutest elf I've ever seen!"

"Fucking fuck, dhoine! That's it, I'm out!" Iorveth broke out of Vernon's embrace. He had only taken a few steps away when a bone-deep chill struck him and made him shiver like never before."Motherfucker! How long is this shit gonna last?!" He ran back and put his hand on Vernon's face, almost bitchslapping him in the process. He stood as far away from Vernon as he could manage.

Vernon took his opportunity to grab Iorveth's arm and practically yank him forward, forcing him to come within hugging distance. Vernon loosely wrapped one arm around Iorveth's back. With his free hand, he clasped Iorveth's other one and gently pulled it closer. Iorveth sighed and sat down on Vernon's lap.

"…Want me to hug you again?"

"Sure." Iorveth grumbled. He was absolutely not enjoying this. Nope. Not at all.

Vernon pulled Iorveth even closer. He wrapped his arms around Iorveth's waist and nuzzled the crook of his neck. Iorveth rubbed Vernon's back after returning the favor. Their hearts synchronized as they cuddled, and in that moment time seemed to stop. For the first time in years, they felt completely safe. Slowly, Vernon laid back, with Iorveth on top of him. They fell asleep together once again, basking in the warmth of the fire and the wonderful feeling of being in the arms of someone you love.

\-----

Iorveth dreamed he was with Vernon.

He dreamed they were cuddling together by a fire.

When he awoke, Vernon was gone.

\-----

(vr is scared upset and anxious about what other ppl could thik about their relationshop and is talking about it to ves)

Vernon paced around, digging a nice hole with his feet. He kept reaching up and adjusting his chaperon, desperately wishing he could just go out and hit a training dummy. Alas, there were people in the training grounds. People who would most definitely judge him and his… Vernon didn't want to call it a relationship, he felt it was far too early for that.

He sighed and leaned against a tree. He felt vulnerable. He felt… No. He was not scared of anything. Anger. He mustered up anger at the situation. Angry that the gods had seen fit to make Iorveth, of all people, his soulmate. The person who he was supposed to love and cherish was also his most hated enemy.

Vernon slumped down to the ground. Just the thought that Iorveth was his enemy drained his energy, making him draw his knees to his chest to hide from a nonexistent entity. He hugged his knees and sighed. He dragged his hand down his face, feeling…

His hand came away black. He noted in the back of his mind he forgot to wash off and reapply his fake stubble. Ugh. Now everyone was going to know he's trans. Oh well. Since everyone likely hated him now it wouldn't change anything for them to know. Vernon took out a waterskin and wet his fingers anyway.

As he washed his face, he thought about Iorveth. He desperately tried to stamp down the light, bubbly feelings associated with Iorveth, but it was no use. The more he tried to repress his emotions, the more they floated into his mind. They kept forming and forming until Vernon felt as though he was being crushed by the sheer weight of them. Vernon gave in and let his feelings guide his daydreams.

He daydreamed of his and Iorveth's love, of holding hands, of kissing, of hugging him tight. He dreamed of romantic picnics, of bringing him flowers, of making him smile every day just because. He daydreamed of sleepy cuddles, of waking up next to him each morning, of eventually getting down on one knee and asking for his hand in marriage.

Vernon was so shocked he slammed his head back against the tree. He winced at impact and rubbed his head, checking for signs of broken bone. Marriage?! He couldn't get married! There wasn't a single desirable trait in him! Not to mention what little charm he held always dissipated by the third date! He shuddered at how he would be bound to Iorveth for the rest of life.

Vernon pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he got a rag out. He rubbed his face until it no longer came away charcoal-black. He put the rag back in his pocket and stood up. It was time he went back to the camp. He had been willing to risk re-capture in order to get away from the judging gazes, and he still is, but he knew he couldn't stay away forever. Iorveth would worry about him.


	23. Chapter 23

Frida had not woken up. But she was awake in the realm of her mind.

"Heya, Fri. Glad to see you're up." A booming voice resounded throughout.

"Viruden?"

"Yep, it's me. I know you're a bit disappointed not to meet a major god, but hey, I'm the next best thing."

Frida felt… odd. She had never been possessed before, at least to her knowledge. "Could you get out of me?"

"Sorry, can't do that. You overexerted yourself, so now I have to deal with repairing the damage your fuck-up did to yourself."

"I- Oh no! Iorveth and Roche, are they-?!"

"Relax, relax. They reunited a few hours ago, and now they're probably cuddling the shit out of each other." Viruden assured.

"Oh, so I'm not doomed…" Frida sighed in relief.

"Yeah, but I might get in trouble for directly interfering with mortal affairs."

"Yes, that is far worse than certain doom."

"Someone's in a mood." Viruden stated. Frida just knew she was rolling her eyes.

"Did you think I'd be in a good mood? I woke up to see you've taken over my body. I'd like it back, by the way."

"If I leave, you'll die. You're just gonna have to wait for it."

"Fine." Frida sighed. "How long?"

"I dunno, I've only done this with training vessels."

"Oh fucking shit…" Frida pinched the bridge of her nose.

\-----

Selena talked animately with Ves and Blagos over a bottle of wine. Blagos seemed to be intoxicated, if her leaning on Ves was indication. Ves herself was a bit tipsy, head swaying slighty. Selena was the only one who was sober. As a vessel for the gods, she couldn't drink alcohol. Whether it was because it interferred with possession in some way or simply because the gods do not approve of intake of alcohol was a mystery to her. Of course, Viruden often ignored this rule and drank anyway. Selena was starting to think she might have a problem.

"You two look cute together, you know that?" Selena told the girls.

"Aw, thank you!" Ves giggled and blushed. She hugged a very confused Blagos.

"Wait, but we aren't… we aren't a thing…" Blagos slurred.

Ves kissed her on her temple. "We're lesbians now."

Blagos blushed and looked away, then promptly passed out. She simply couldn't handle all the gay. Ves smiled and laid her down, covering her with her outer coat and leaving Ves in a thin white shirt, which she promptly buttoned up. She was shy around girls.

"Goodnight, Blagos. Sleep tight." Selena bid Blagos. She adjusted her improvised blanket to cover her shoulders before addressing Ves. "I need to attend to some matters. Farewell. Make sure you keep your gay safe."

"I will!" Ves smiled and waved Selena goodbye. She laid down next to Blagos and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing her goodnight. Unconsciously, Blagos smiled.

\-----

"Eyyy, Selena!" Viruden bounded up to Selena and greeeted her warmly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Thank fuck you're here, I'm bored as all the realms!"

"Can it wait? I've got work to do." Selena grunted as she attempted a spell to spy on Iorveth without success.

"C'mon…" Viruden put Selena's hands down. "There's gotta be something you can do for me!"

Selena sighed, knowing Viruden wasn't going anywhere until her wishes were fufilled. Gods were anmoying like that. "Fine, help me connect to the ribbon."

"What ribbon?"

"You know, the purple one Frida gave to Iorveth when he was a cat. She used it to monitor him and manipulate his dreams."

"Oh yeah, she mentioned something like that." Viruden recalled. "I think she made it so that only she could connect with it."

"Dammit, I was hoping I could take advantage of it." Selena cursed.

Viruden tapped her chin. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen it anywhere. Maybe it got separated from Iorveth…"

"Either way, we can't use it." Selena sighed and tugged on her boots. "C'mon, we're doing this the old-fashioned way."

"Ooh! The old-fashioned way! …What's that?"

"It means we stay quiet, sneak around, and observe things. Now, follow me. I think Iorveth and Vernon are nearby."

\-----

Selena cast a weak muffling spell on herself and Viruden, aiding in silencing their footfalls. She led her to the place she spotted Vernon and Iorveth, a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of camp. Then, she and Viruden sank to their bellies. Viruden cast another spell on them, enhancing their hearing.

"…why? We're… we're soulmates…" Iorveth was the first voice they heard. Selena frowned. It sounded like Iorveth's voice was cracking.

"We're also sworn enemies." Vernon answered.

"That doesn't mean…"

"It won't work. This isn't one of those romance novels or fanfics where two enemies can just fall in love and live happily ever after. This is real life, Iorveth." Vernon explained as he scratched his arm. Viruden internally sighed.

"That doesn't mean…" It was at that point Iorveth broke and started crying. "That doesn't mean we have to… go back to the way things were."

Oh no.

"I wish I could say it wouldn't but… Well… My superiors might question it. Tell you what, I'll try to avoid confrontation between our soldiers as much as possible without arousing suspicion."

"Why do you even care?!" Iorveth screamed in heartbroken rage. "Why should what other people think keep you from-?!" Iorveth wildly swung his hand between himself and Vernon. "Ugh!"

"Iorveth-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Iorveth roared and blubbered. He spun on his heel and wiped his face, fighting the urge to run away. Then, he tilted his head and gave Vernon an ice-cold glare normally reserved for slavers. "You have twenty-four hours to gather up your soldiers and your supplies. I want you gone by this time tomorrow. If we find even one recruit of yours, I will personally hunt down each and every single dhoine that has ever joined your pathetic little squad, then I will hunt you down and slaughter you like the pig you are." Iorveth explained with a calm, yet somewhat shaky tone. His hands balled into fists at his side as he tensed and relaxed his jaw.

Vernon didn't doubt he would. He turned around and walked off, not even saying goodbye. As soon as Vernon was gone, Iorveth broke down into a sob. He screamed and cried and bawled the pieces of his heart out as he pounded the ground. In a single conversation, Vernon had broken Iorveth's heart into a million tiny shards, cutting into his soul with each breath he took.

Viruden watched on, feeling the stirrings of an unfamiliar emotion. She turned to Selena, who held an unrecognizable expression on her face. She faced Viruden and told her exactly what they were both thinking.

"We need to tell Frida."


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, guys! Hurricane Irma's a bitch

"I told her." Viruden sighed and rubbed her temples.

"How did she react?" Selena asked as she watched the camp. Vernon had listened to Iorveth's threat, and was busy gathering his unit and their supplies, intending to leave as soon as possible.

"She's having a panic attack right now."

"…Fuck. Oh, what do we do?" Selena put her face in her hands.

"…"

"…"

"I got nothing." Viruden shrugged.

"Guess we have to wait for Frida to calm down…" Selena grumbled. 

"Oh no…" Viruden paled. "I just realized the gods might strike Frida down…"

"You are the gods! Can't you just protect Frida?!"

"Both my power and ranking are no match for the fates." Viruden sighed. "I want to protect her, I really do. But I have no idea how."

"Yeah, I'm stumped. I'm guessing we have two days until we're dead. Doubt we can get Iorveth and Vernon to kiss and make up in that time." Selena scratched the back of her head and slumped over.

"…Wanna get roaring drunk?" Viruden suggested.

"Are you giving up already?" Selena challenged. "We haven't even tried to save ourselves!"

"Hey, if we're gonna die soon, we might as well have fun in the meantime." Viruden shrugged and got up. "If you got an idea for getting the lovebirds back together, lemme hear it."

Frida looked back to the camp, then she smirked. "I've got an idea all right…"

\-----

Iorveth sat down on the tree branch, numb to his own heartbreak. He took off his bandana and sighed wistfully. He couldn't fool himself. He wanted to be with Vernon. He wanted to be with his soulmate. But his soulmate didn't want him back. Iorveth didn't realize he was crying until he felt teardrops land on his hand.

Iorveth curled up into a ball and let the floodgates be released once again. He sobbed silently, hating himself for how he felt. He wished he could hate Vernon too, but he couldn't muster up enough anger to do so. He could only curse him out.

"Damn you… Gods damn you…" Iorveth croaked between sobs. He scratched and scratched and scratched at his scar until it was red and bleeding again, then he scratched some more.

Iorveth hated himself. He blamed himself for Vernon pushing him away. He wished he was good enough for love. But alas, Iorveth had his heart broken for the millionth time.

\-----

"Shiiiiit…" Selena dragged out silently.

"What is it?" Viruden paused the transfer of magic to let Selena speak.

"I made Ioveth too sad. Now he hates himself and he doesn't even want to try and smooth things over."

"Make him happy or something, then." Viruden resumed the magic transfer.

"Stop it." Selena ordered. Viruden stopped. "I can't give him such a huge mood swing, it'll mess up his brain. And I can't lessen the emotions, either. Once someone's in a state of extreme emotion, magic can't change how they feel. You have to use mundane means to soothe them, or just wait it out."

"Oh…" Viruden looked back to Iorveth. "So, uh, what do we do now?"

"We can wait for him to calm down, soothe him, or move on to another thing. What do you think we should do?"

"Uh, move on. I don't think we'll accomplish anything here."

\-----

"You! Quit wasting time and get in line!" Vernon bellowed at the poor soldier. "And fix your uniform, too!"

"Sorry, sir! Lemme just…" 

"Now!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldier tripped over his own feet to get into line.

"Good." Vernon smirked slightly as his headache soothed. He did a quick head count, and once satisfied everyone was accounted for, gestured for everyone to stand at attention. "Now, as I'm sure you're aware of, the past few days have been a downright mess. I will not get into details, but it is likely that the Scoia'Tael will be even more dangerous from here on. Therefore, we need to be cautious and see if there are any changes in strategy, and if so what changes there are. If you see a Squirrel, observe them from a distance. Do not engage unless you are attacked, or ordered to. Any questions?"

One soldier raised her hand. Vernon gestured for her to speak. "Are these changes because of you and Scoia'Tael commander Iorveth… Nevermind."

"Smart woman." Vernon relaxed his jaw, which had clenched up when the soldier mentioned Iorveth. "Anyone else?" Literal crickets chirped. "Good. That is the end of the announcement, you are all dismissed."

The soldiers broke formation, some grumbling to themselves. Vernon adjusted his chaperon and headed back to his room. Once inside, he slammed the door shut and sat at his desk, where a keg of beer laid, untouched by the recent raid. Vernon took the mug and created a cycle where he filled it, drank from it, and then repeated. Before long, the keg had been completely drained and Vernon's head swam.

Vernon scratched his crotch while he blinked away the stars in his vision. He propped an arm on the table to steady himself. A hand laid itslef on his shoulder, and Vernon jumped. He swatted away the offending appendage while he searched for a knife.

"Easy. I'm not going to hurt you." A soothing voice spoke up. It eased Vernon's nerves, calming him in an instant. "In fact, I wish to help you."

"Dun need any 'elp." Vernon slurred.

"You've been hurt."

"'m fine!" Vernon threw his hands in the air and shouted out.

"Yes, because getting drunk on shitty beer alone in your room is a sign that you're as happy as can be." The stranger sat down next to Vernon in an invisible chair and rubbed his back. "You're clearly in pain. I can help, but you need to tell me what's wrong."

"Aah, feggit. I dun'ed mah soulma' an' he told me ta fahk off!"

The stranger was silent for a few moments. "Why did you dump your soulmate?"

"Yer not mah thera… mah the ra…"

"Your therapist?"

"Yeah, that. 'E's alwaysh tryna get in mah head, alwaysh asking me shit like dat."

"Hm. What would he think of your current situation?" As the stranger spoke, a cool washed over Vernon, and he could think a little clearly.

"Dunno, maybs he'd remind me tah take mah meds. I take meds. For mah anxiety. 'M off 'em."

"You're off your meds? Then you better take them."

"Can't. Dunno where 'ey are. Pro'ly burned or somefin during the raid." Vernon shrugged and got up, intending to head off to bed. Instead, his knees buckled beneath him, and he fell onto his desk. "…Fahk."

"Easy, Roche. You're not exactly sober. Why don't I help you back into your seat and we can keep talking?" The stranger guided Vernon back into his chair. "So, was there any reason why you broke up with your soulmate?"

"…"

"Thought so. How did you feel leading up to the break-up?"

"Bad."

"Mm. Which exact emotions did you feel?"

"Fahk you."

"I can't help you unless you tell me these things." The stranger chided. "Uh, tell you what, you can draw it out if it's easier for you. Here, take these crayons and draw how you felt. On the paper, of course."

Vernon grunted and grabbed a fistful of crayons. He dragged the tips across the paper, not caring that he was using all the crayons at once. He zigzagged the crayons until he created a brown mess on the paper. He looked at his creation and smiled. It was a masterpiece.

"Um, Roche, are you done?"

"Mm-hm."

"Oh! Let me take a look…" There was a long pause. "Oh, uh, I can tell you've put a lot of thought into this. I'm afraid I don't quite get it, though. Could you explain it?"

"Eh." Vernon shrugged.

"Are you saying yes or no?"

"Uh!" Vernon flapped his arms once.

"Hm. Are you getting tired of talking?"

"Mm-hm."

"That's fine, we can keep talking later. Why don't I help you get to bed? I'll even tuck you in, how about…" A loud thud alerted the stranger to Vernon's new position on the floor. "Oh dear. Lemme just grab you, and… there you go…" The stranger grunted and panted with the effort of dragging what might as well have been dead weight across the floor. She managed to push him onto the bed and wrestle him out of his binder. "There. Goodnight, Vernon."

"Eh." Vernon grunted as he was tucked in for the night.

\-----

Selena trudged on through the brushes, Vernon's drawing in tow. She paused momentarily to free her leg from some brambles, then she continued her stride. She had almost gotten caught sneaking around the Blue Stripes base several times, and the further she got from them, the safer she was.

Selena adjusted her vest as she went. She spotted Viruden standing in the distance, in the same spot she left her in. Selena ignored the uneasy feeling she got and called out to her. "Viruden! I'm back!"

Viruden stayed riveted in place. She was deathly still, except for the occasional twitches of magic around her. Upon closer inspection, Selena found that her hair had turned back to its natural white color.

"Frida? Viruden? What happened?" Selena waved a hand in Frida's face. Frida followed it with her eyes, the only part she could move. She gave Selena a frightful look, the only warning Selena got before another woman approached. Just hearing the woman's voice sent a chill down Selena's spine.

"Greetings, Selena. It took you long enough to get here. I was starting to get bored."


	25. Chapter 25

Iorveth took a cloth and wiped the blood and tears off his face. He sniffled as the white handkerchief became red, and whimpered when he aggravated his scar. He almost cried again as he intentionally poked and prodded his reopened scar. Yep, he had definitely torn it open.

Iorveth simply could not believe it. One second, he had found his soulmate, and had a chance at love, the next he had been dumped and left to pick up the pieces of his heart. Time and time again, he's been twisted and ripped apart by those who said they loved him. Iorveth was a damn fool for believing he was worthy of love.

Slowly, Iorveth began returning to camp. He really didn't want to face anyone, but he knew he couldn't hide forever. He dragged his feet along the ground as he walked. He thought briefly that slavers out for revenge might follow the tracks he was leaving, but the he decided he didn't give a shit.

"Should have killed him when I got the chance…" He muttered. Iorveth knew damn well dhoines would take any and every opportunity to hurt him, and if they didn't, they were just waiting to rip Iorveth's heart out. Iorveth chuckled and shook his head. 

The guards monitoring the perimeter nodded in greeting as Iorveth passed. They knew better than to talk to him when his emotions were all over the place. As such, no one else talked to Iorveth, and he preferred it that way.

Iorveth nearly snarled when someone brushed him as he walked past. It was an accident, sure, but that didn't stop him from grabbing the hilt of his sword so hard his knuckles turned white. When he found the Blue Stripes soldier sleeping next to one from the Scoia'Tael, it was no surprise that he automatically drew his sword.

\-----

"Hello. I am afraid I do not know what name you go by" Selena swallowed her fear and erred on the side of caution.

The woman in black looked down at her outfit, confused, then she suddenly understood. "Oh, you have never seen me in this form. I am Mahorela."

"Mahorela?!" Selena gasped.

"Yes. I am the messenger of the gods, and they are, in layman's terms, absolutely pissed. You see, Miss Wilkinson here had a mission, which I'm sure you are already aware of, and she failed it. The gods had given her plenty of time to complete it, and yet she failed it. And Viruden, well, let's just say she broke several laws. But don't worry. You will not be harmed." Mahorela gave Selena a smug grin as she relayed the news. Now that Selena had a chance to look, she could just barely see a magical thread coming fron Mahorela's hands to wrap around Frida, rooting her to the spot.

"What will happen to them?" Selena dared to ask.

"None of your concern. But you will likely never see either of them again." Mahorela gave the magic thread a tug so slight Selena would have missed it if she wasn't watching her every move. Frida fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath.

"Frida!" Selena began running over to Frida, but Mahorela stopped her with a simple hand gesture, creating an invisible wall which Selena slammed into.

"Don't concern yourself with her. The gods will deal with her."

"Will she die?!"

"Getting bold, are you?" Mahorela clacked her tongue. The motion sent waves of pain through Selena's body, forcing her to the ground. "You are so reckless when Frida is involved. And yet you didn't even care when you pushed a certain someone into wanting to kill themself with a single spell."

"Wh… what?" Selena gasped and groaned as she writhed on the ground.

"Iorveth wanted to commit suicide because of you. Your spell worked a little too well. Is it because Viruden was charging it? Or do you just have some natural talent?" Mahorela shrugged. "Either way, the gods decided not to punish you this instance, so don't push it, but they will certainly punish Frida and Viruden."

"Are they…?" Selena managed to croak out.

"Selena…" Frida managed to properly support herself. "Don't. You'll just… make it harder for you…"

"Silence, mortal. You'll need your strength for what is to come." Mahorela grabbed Frida's hair with one hand and began moving the other in a circle, preparing to create a portal. "Goodbye, Selena. Hopefully we need not see each other again."

"Wait…" Selena's arms shook as she pushed herself off the ground. "What would it take to let Frida go?"

A wave of surprise washed over Mahorela's face, but she quickly stomped it down. "Excuse me?"

"What would it take to allow Frida to go free?"

"Hm, probably if the soulmates decided to have romantic relations again. But Frida would still have to be punished."

"And Viruden?"

"Nothing a mortal could do could circumvent her punishment." Mahorela stated matter-of-factly. "Don't worry about her, she'll not be killed."

"What if…" Selena carefully pondered her next words. "I were to…"

"Selena, don't."

"Shh. Let her speak." Mahorela quickly shushed Frida.

"…Solve the problem?"

"Go on." Mahorela dropped the arm preparing the portal.

"If I could bring Iorveth and Roche back together, would it excuse Frida and Viruden? Or at least lessen their punishments?"

"Hm. I'm supposed to bring Frida back immediately, though…"

"Please answer the question."

"I guess if you managed to do it before the punishments take place, Frida would be forgiven, and Viruden's punishment would be less severe. But you are just a mortal, and by the time you'd get back to the Blue Stripes camp, Frida and I would be gone, and the punishments would already be taking place. But…" Mahorela grinned. "I could be persuaded to delay bringing her back. I'm not supposed to do that, though, so it would take a great offer to convince me to do so."

"My soul." Selena offered immediately.

"Selena!"

Mahorela's grin grew wider. "Your soul?"

"I wish for you to keep Frida from her punishment while I bring the soulmates together. If I succeed, I wish for Frida and Viruden to be released. If I fail, you will have my soul."

"Mm, tempting." Mahorela licked her lips. "Unfortunately, I can't do anything for Viruden besides give a good word, but succeeding in your endeavor will definitely lighten her punishment."

"So you accept?" Hope returned to Selena's eyes.

"Yes, with a few conditions…" Mahorela chuckled. "First, you have seventy-two hours in mortal time to complete your task. Second, Frida here will be kept in a sort of holding cell until you either complete or fail the task. You cannot have any contact with her whatsoever. She may watch you via magical means, but she cannot interfere. Third, you cannot be seen by either soulmate. If any of these rules are broken, you automatically forfeit your soul."

"I agree to your terms." Selena didn't hesitate to say.

"You fucking idiot…" Frida muttered under her breath.

"Good!" Mahorela clasped her hands. "Now, hold out your arm. I need to make sure you don't… forget any of it."

Selena obediently raised her arm and allowed Mahorela to grasp it. Mahorela wiped the skin out of habit, then she muttered and brought her own arm back. She retrieved a sharpie from her back pocket and began scribbling strange symbols all over the inside of Selena's forearm.

"There. All done." Mahorela patted Selena's arm and smirked.

"What do these symbols mean?" Selena asked as she lowered her arm.

"…What do you think?"

"I don't know, I don't recognize them."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Mahorela threw her hands in the air. "It's literally what we just said!"

"What?" Selena looked back at her arm. "How is that in common tongue?"

"Ugh, is my handwriting really that bad?" Mahorela turned her back to Selena. She began creating a portal once again. "The task starts once Frida and I leave. Do you have any questions?"

"No."

"Good." Mahorela set one foot through the portal. Farewell. And I look forward to seeing how good souls taste with a bit of hot sauce."


	26. Chapter 26

"Huh? Wha?" Ves awoke, rubbing her eyes. "Whazzat?"

"You're still here." Iorveth glared down at her, sword drawn.

"What?"

"All Blue Stripes were to leave. And yet you're still here."

"Shit! When was this?!" Ves shot up, leaving her bedmate cold.

"A few hours ago." Iorveth remarked casually.

"Fuck! …Wait, why is your sword drawn?"

Iorveth stared at Ves and tried to make himself hate her. He knew he should kill her, knew he should kill all the Blue Stripes. If Vernon hadn't decided to play games with his heart, maybe he would never have had to kill a Blue Stripe ever again. Bug he did, and now Iorveth had to deal with this shit.

"Get out of here." Iorveth decided to say after some contemplation.

\-----

"I don't want your gods-damned shit!" Vernon knocked the plate out of the soldier's hand. "Just the smell is making me nauseous!"

"I'm sorry, sir! It's just that, you haven't eaten anything since you got here-"

"I don't need people to police my diet! Get that out of here!"

The soldier was quick to obey Vernon, cleaning up the mess his commander created. While he did that, Vernon massaged his temples. His hangover had been aggravated by his own shouting. It didn't help that everyone was trying to smother him. He was a grown adult, dammit! He could handle a breakup!

\-----

Selena trudged through the forest as she contemplated her mission. She had no clue how to properly matchmake without the matchees seeing her. She was starting to think she should have tried to negotiate with Mahorela. Selena sighed. Offering up her soul was not the brightest idea she's ever had.

"Just what am I-" Selena was cut off by someone barreling into her. Both stumbled and nearly fell. "Hey, what the- Oh."

Before Selena stood her potential salvation: the second-in-command of the Blue Stripes, Ves. She smiled, already forming an idea.

"Hey." Ves greeted after she stabilized herself.

"Hello. Are you going to base, by any chance?"

"Yes, I am." Ves ran her fingers through her hair.

"Do you mind if I walk with you for a bit? I got a bit lost." Selena faked a nervous laugh and looked around.

"No, of course you can. Come on." Ves turned and began jogging.

"Wait!" Selena sprinted to catch up. Once she did, she had to push herself just to keep up. "Not exactly… in shape…"

"I can tell."

Selena bit back a scathing remark. "So, uh, were you... sent on a mission or something?"

"No, actually. Iorveth woke me up and kicked me out of the camp. Said something about every other soldier being gone." Ves ducked under a branch and held it up for Selena. Selena, however, stopped suddenly.

"Wait. How… how long ago was this?"

"About ten minutes ago. Why?"

"Let me get this straight." Selena evened out her breathing and continued. "So ten minutes ago, Iorveth woke you up, and he let you go?"

"Uh… yeah?" Ves answered. "Is there something I'm missing? I thought he and Vernon were together now."

Selena looked at her funny for a minute, then she simply had to laugh. She doubled over, tears brimming in her eyes. "Gods! There's, ha ha ha! There's hope after all!"

"What? What's so funny?"

"One… one second…" Selena held up a finger. When she managed to stop laughing, she gave an explanation to Ves. "They broke up earlier today. Don't know exactly why."

"Already?" Ves scoffed. "Wow. Vernon set a new record for himself."

"What do you mean?" Selena shook her head. "Nevermind. Let's keep walking."

"Why do you want to go to our base anyway?" Ves asked as she followed Selena.

Selena sighed. "I need to get Roche and Iorveth back together. I have a lot riding on them."

"Like what?"

"…Let's just say we'll all suffer if they don't."

"What?" Ves stopped. "What do you mean?"

Selena stopped. She wrestled with herself on whether to tell Ves what happened. She settled for a half-truth. "I made a gamble with someone I really shouldn't have, with something of mine I shouldn't have offered. I have three days to get them to make up, or…"

"I see. You want me to go back and talk to Blagos about it?"

"No!" Selena yelled. She caught herself and lowered her voice. "Iorveth kicked the entire Blue Stripes when he broke up, and from what I heard he was planning on killing any soldier he or any other Scoia'Tael find, and then declare war on the Blue Stripes afterwards. If you go back, Iorveth might not let you go a second time."

"…I see." Ves hmmed and kept walking. "How do you plan on getting them to reconciliate?"

"I don't exactly know. But since you're here, could you help me with this?"

"This seems important to you, so I'll try to help where I can. I'll talk to Vernon, you talk to Iorveth, or Blagos. Whoever he'll listen to."

"Yeah, about that," Selena stepped over a raised root. "I can't be seen by either Iorveth or Roche. That was one of the terms of the agreement. Fuck, I can't believe I was stupid enough to not try and negotiate."

"That certainly throws a wrench in the works. Can you use your magic on them?"

"…How do you know I can cast spells?"

"When I was prisoner, you ran right past me, with magical fire all around you, and you were screaming like a banshee." Ves scoffed. "You must've been possessed or something."

"I was." Selena stated plainly.

"…Oh."

"Possession happens to me pretty frequently. You see, I'm a vessel for the gods. And I'm not just some ordinary vessel. I come from a long line of vessels, and my bloodline is one of those best suited to be possessed. Most people can't be possessed. The few that can cannot be possessed for very long, or they will wither and die, or combust from the sheer power of their… guest, is the best way to explain it. And the guest cannot use their full power, due to most mortals being a sort of blockage for the Force. And although it isn't as bad when they're possessing magic-users, they're still limited in what they can do. My bloodline is special in that we can be possessed indefinitely and not die, and guests can express their full power through us, regardless of magical skill or talent. So, uh, I guess I'm a bit popular among the gods."

Ves whistled, impressed. "Wow. What exactly makes your bloodline good for possession?"

"I don't know, genetics, maybe? No one's figured it out yet. It doesn't exactly get high priority, since the gods don't see the benefit of it. At least, the important ones."

"Ah." Ves nodded in understanding. "Oh, we're here."

"What?" Selena realized one second later that the Blue Stripes base had come into view. Shouting could be heard from within. "Oh. Hey, is outright screaming normal?"

"Oh, fuck." Ves sighed. "That's Vernon. From the sound of it, he's the angriest he's been in a long time. You might want to stay away until he calms down."

"I was going to keep my distance anyway, but thanks." Selena thanked Ves. "Oh, and before you go, let's make a plan."

"A plan?"

"You said you'd help me bring the lovebirds back together."

"Oh yeah!" Ves nodded. "You got anything in mind?"

"Kinda."


	27. Chapter 27

"You aren't eating." Mahorela pushed the plate of rice and beans towards Frida. "Come on. You need your strength."

"Not hungry." Frida lied, even as her stomach grumbled.

"Dearie, I understand that with you and your state of mortality, spite is addictive, but resisting my efforts to feed you will only hurt you."

"Not. Hungry." Frida gritted out.

Mahorela sighed. "Fine, fine. You want to starve yourself, be my guest. I'm just going to check up on that lovely little apprentice of yours. Feel free to sit by me and watch." With that, Mahorela dipped a finger in a bowl of water. She watched the image that formed from the ripples become colorful and defined.

Frida grudgingly scoot over to Mahorela's side. She peered into the bowl and found that Selena was talking with a certain blonde member of the Blue Stripes. Frida smirked. Clearly, Selena was smarter than Frida had given her credit for earlier.

"What the…" Mahorela sighed and rubbed her temples. "Dammit. I'm so stupid. Why didn't I say she should work alone?"

"And now you can't change the contract." Frida gave Mahorela a shit-eating grin. "Selena has outplayed you already."

"For now."

\-----

Ves flinched when Vernon threw something that nearly hit her square in the face. She's been around for when his anger soared out of control, but he's never resorted to throwing things. Ves made a note of that as she stood still.

"Ves?!" Vernon immediately calmed upon seeing her. He went up to her, eyes wide, and examined her head to toe. "I had- Where were you?"

"I fell asleep." Ves offered sheepishly as she stood before Vernon.

"You fell asleep…" Vernon looked at Ves odd. "You weren't here for roll call."

"Apologies. Did I worry you?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I noticed you weren't there." Vernon pursed his lips. "Why don't you… take a few days off?"

"But I-"

"Just take them!" Vernon groaned. "It's bad enough that I- nevermind."

"Something bothering you, Vernon?" Ves asked, concerned for the man she called her brother.

"Nothing. Dismissed." Vernon pointedly stated.

Ves, finding no way to get anything about Vernon's state of mind until later when he's calmed down, took her leave. She joined up with Selena outside of camp, who was busy writing or drawing something on a piece of paper.

"Anything?" Selena paused her scribbling to allow Ves to speak.

"He didn't seem very talkative, that's for sure. In fact, he gave me a few days off almost immediately after seeing me."

"Dammit. He must be withdrawing into himself or something."

"He doesn't do that. Most of the time, he either takes it out on the training dummies, his soldiers, or he spends time with his cat. And Meow- Iorveth, I guess, became his main way of coping, before…"

"Mm." Selena nodded and wrote something down. "I'll take your word for it."

"What shall I do?"

"Uhhhhhh…" Selena paused. She had hoped Ves would bring her something to work with. "How about you, uh, keep an eye on Roche, and, uh, try to nudge him into going back to Iorveth?"

"How? I'm autistic, and I have no sense of subtlety."

"So am I…" Selena sighed. "How about, uh, supporting him while hinting at a few things, maybe?" Selena's voice lilted up in uncertainty.

"You have no idea, do you?" Ves asked rhetorically.

"Nope." Selena popped the 'p.'

Ves laughed grimly. "We're screwed."

"Not yet…" Selena's eyes lit with sudden inspiration. "Frida showed me a way we could communicate long distances. I've never done this before, but…"

"Would we be able to talk to each other instantaneously?" Ves' voice took on an inquisitive tone.

"If it works, yes." Selena frowned. "But there is a problem."

"What?"

"She never outright taught me how to do this. I've only seen her do it once, which is how I even know of this method. I have no idea what could happen if I do this wrong, which all things considered is more likely than not. It's possible nothing could happen, and it's possible this spell could very well kill you. That is the nature of magic."

"Shit…" Ves groaned. "What exactly do you have to do for this spell?"

"Well, it's more of an enchantment than a spell…" Selena set her paper and quill to the side. "First, we will need something you will wear. Anything will do, but preferably something small. Easier to hide, less suspicious, and you don't have to keep wearing it after the enchantment outlives its intended use."

"So not my jacket, or anything else I'll need to wear afterwards?" Ves gestured to her clothes.

"You can, if you want, but yeah. We should probably use a pendant, or a ribbon or something…"

"Like this ribbon?" Ves fished out a purple ribbon from a hidden pocket.

"Where did you get that?" Selena asked. Last time she checked, purple dye was highly expensive. It wouldn't be just lying on the ground in the Scoia'Tael campm

"Lying on the ground in the Scoia'Tael camp. We were getting ready for the assault on the slavers when I found it and thought, 'hey, pretty ribbon!' And so I picked it up."

"Mm, that's fair." Selena pursed her lips, embarrassed. "Hand it to me." Ves gave Selena the ribbon. "Thank you. Now, I have to lick it."

"What?!"

"It needs something that binds me to it in order to work. At least, I think so. It's been a while since I saw the process." Selena licked the ribbon. "Ick. That tastes horrible."

"It has been on the ground." Ves smirked. "You know, you could have just spat on it."

"…Fuck." Selena cursed. "Anyway, enchantments normally take a large amount of magic to cast, as opposed to runes. Runes are cheap, but they don't have a whole lot of available functions. Enchantments, however, are much more flexible in what they can do, which is why Frida likes them."

"I didn't ask."

"Now, since being a vessel to gods on a regular basis gives me great magical reserves," Selena ignored Ves and continued. "I already have enough power to make an enchantment, whereas most people need the help of specialized devices in order to create enchantments."

"Are you done?" Ves huffed.

"Ugh, one moment." Selena muttered an incantation under her breath, making the ribbon shimmer and glow for a few seconds before returning to normal.

"You forgot to bind it to me, too." Ves pointed out.

"If I did this correctly, it should bind to you when you put it on. Here." Selena handed the ribbon back. "Try it. I'll be thinking a phrase, and if you hear it, I want you to say so."

"Which phrase?" Ves inquired as she tied the ribbon around her wrist.

"I won't say it out loud, but you'll know it when you hear it. Ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay." With that, Selena mentally screamed the phrase, _"BAGELS ARE MY LIFEBLOOD." ___

__"Uh, could you repeat your phrase?" Ves looked confused._ _

___"BAGELS ARE MY LIFEBLOOD." ____ _

____"Uh, I don't think you did it right… Whoever's on the other end is verbally freaking out."_ _ _ _

____"What?! Who?!" Selena interrogated._ _ _ _

____Ves tilted her head for a moment and mumbled, then she looked back at Selena. "Blagos."_ _ _ _


	28. Chapter 28

"…What."

"I know, I can't believe it either." Ves adjusted her ribbon. "Why would it connect me to Blagos?"

"I- I don't know. Maybe it, uh… I've got nothing." Selena shook her head.

"…You know, this might actually be a good thing." Ves smiled, mulling over the situation. "If either of us are seen in the Scoia'Tael camp, we'll be killed. But now we have a way of indirectly communicating with Iorveth now. Oh, hang on, Blagos is talking."

\-----

Mahorela flipped the scrying bowl, spilling water everywhere. She kicked it across the room and left a dent in both the bowl and the wall it hit.

"Shit, this is going badly already…" Mahorela groaned and rubbed her temples. She glared at Frida, who had a small smile on her face. "Clean this up."

"As you wish." Frida passive-aggressively sassed. She picked up the bowl and gently placed it back on its stand. Then, she picked up a mop Mahorela conjured for her and began wiping up the mess.

"You better not lose that. I'm only making one. You lose it? Too bad, you'll have to make do."

"I figured." Frida smirked.

\-----

Ves passed by a group of friends, who seemed to be complaining about something. The instinct to stick around and see what they're talking about surged up in Ves, prompting her to take a few steps back. She decided to stand near the group and attempt to look casual. Key word casual. She crossed her arms, put her leg on a table, and stood around none-too-subtly. It was a very good thing the soldiers were too caught up in their conversation to notice her.

"…And when I tried to give him some food, he knocked it out of my hands and made me clean it up!"

Ves heard the others groan.

"I know how you feel, man. He made me run thirty laps for, and I quote, looking at him funny! The best part is, I wasn't! Someone there at the time told me I looked normal!"

"Roche told me I smelled bad, then he made me polish all the knives in camp."

"What is with him lately? You'd think someone broke up with him again."

"You didn't hear? He had a relationship with Iorveth, but they broke up recently, yesterday morning, in fact."

"And his cat's been missing since we got attacked."

Ves listened to the rest of the conversation, but gleamed no more information. She decided to leave. After all, she had to find Vernon. A voice in Ves' head piped up, curious about what was going on.

 _"Long story short, I'm trying to get Vernon to go back to Iorveth. Right now, I'm trying to gauge his mental state."_ Ves answered curtly. _"Wait, I see Vernon. Stay quiet, I'm gonna talk to him."_

True to what Ves said, Vernon sat before her, facing away and stroking the shoulder Meowveth would normally sit on. A wistful sigh told all Ves needed to know. She decided to take a cautious approach, not quite knowing how Vernon would react to an interrogation right off the bat.

"Vernon? Are you feeling better now?" Ves approached Vernon, careful not to startle him.

"Huh?" Vernon was metaphorically shaken out of his thoughts.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel fine! Why does everyone keep asking me that?!" Vernon threw his arms up. He huffed and rubbed his temples. "Look, in case you're wondering about… me and Iorveth, it was just a momentary relationship. It didn't even last a day, for fucks sake! It didn't matter to either of us!"

"You sure?" Ves asked, laying a hand on Vernon's shoulder.

Vernon glanced at Ves' ribbon. "Hey, that ribbon looks familiar…"

"Don't change the subject. I just want to know how you're holding up." Ves sat down, guiding Vernon to sit with her. "I've heard you've been lashing out a lot since… Anyway, I worry about you. A lot. And I won't be able to do anything about it unless you're open with me. So please, tell me what's on your mind."

Vernon sighed. He took off his chaperon and ran a hand through his hair. "I miss Meowveth."

"The elf himself, or the cat?"

"The cat." Vernon said after a pause.

"I miss him too. He was such a little troublemaker."

"Yep." Vernon chuckled. "He gave me a bunch of scars." Vernon absentmindedly traced one such scar on his hand. "Dangerous kitty, that."

"I think he liked you. Why else would it try to kill everyone but you?"

"I hope he did. I…" Vernon turned his head away and hunched over. "Does that mean Iorveth…?"

"Yes. Yes, I think he did." Ves placed a hand on Vernon's knee.

"Fuck… What have I done?"

\-----

Blagos concentrated on her aim. Right now, it was just her, her bow and arrow, and the target. Blagos took a deep breath and let the string loose. The arrow soared through the air, hitting the bullseye. She whooped. That was her best shot in a while.

"Nice shot." Iorveth walked by, noticing how Blagos was celebrating.

"Thanks." Blagos held up her hand for a high five. After a few moments, Iorveth slapped it. "So, uh, what are you planning to do with the Scoia'Tael now?"

"I don't really have anything in mind, besides the usual and keeping an extra eye out for Blue Stripes." Iorveth visibly saddened at the mention of the Blue Stripes. "I wonder what Vernon's doing…" He mumbled.

"How you holding up, by the way?" Blagos strapped her bow to her back.

"I'm fucking pissed." Iorveth stated plainly. "I want to destroy Vernon."

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"But… he's your soulmate…" Blagos pointed out.

"I don't care! If he wants to fight me until the end of his days, so be it! I'll be happy to oblige him!" Iorveth's voice grew louder and louder as he went on. "He's just another dhoine! He deserves to die! He deserves to be tortured until his final breath! HE DESERVES TO SUFFER!"


	29. Chapter 29

"How about we, uh, help you get your mind off that?" Blagos offered. "Y'know, all that… anger and stress is bad for you."

"…What do you have in mind?" Although Iorveth was still fuming, he was willing to listen to one of his best friends.

"Uh, how about…" Blagos searched for an idea. She decided to try Ves. _"Hey, I need-"_

 _"Baby animals. Games. Music. Spending time with friends."_ Ves responded immediately, without giving Blagos time to finish.

_"…Were you eavesdropping on me?"_

_"You think pretty loudly."_ Ves informed her.

"What about making some music? You could play your recorder, and I could play the triangle." Blagos suggested at last.

"Ugh, fine." Iorveth groaned as he got out his recorder.

"How about you lead the song? It's a bit hard for a triangle player to lead…"

Iorveth rolled his eye, but nodded. He placed the recorder to his lips as Blagos whipped out a metal triangle and stick. He began a song, clumsy and untuned from lack of practice. Blagos followed along, playing rather skillfully for the instrument she was using.

Iorveth played an improvised tune, allowing his anger to turn into song. His fingers danced over the holes, and he swayed slightly. A small smile formed on his face as he played song, which gradually calmed as he calmed down. Thoughts of Vernon flowed into Iorveth's mind, bringing a strange sort of happiness as the music became lighter, even a little excited.

Blagos gradually eased off her role in the song until Iorveth was playing alone. Smiling, she put her triangle away and simply listened to Iorveth's song. She thought about how Ves had held her and kissed her the other day. She blushed and put a hand to her cheek. She was so gay for Ves.

Iorveth finished his song and removed the recorder from his lips, leaving his smile plain for the world to see. His heart felt aflutter, momentarily having forgotten his pain. Iorveth silently giggled as he put his recorder away and turned to face Blagos.

"Thank you. I feel better now."

"It's nothing."

Something told Blagos she was doing the right thing.

\-----

"I really shouldn't be eating this…" Vernon muttered as he ate a spoonful of ice cream.

"I'm just glad you're eating." Ves argued as she shoveled up their shared ice cream onto her spoon. "I haven't seen you eat anything since… Anyway, you feel better now?"

"A little."

"That's good." Ves patted Vernon on the shoulder. "Is the ice cream-"

"No." Vernon put down his spoon.

Ves cursed under her breath. "Uh, how about we, uh… finish eating and, uh, take a walk?"

"Sure." Vernon shrugged, finding no reason not to. His spoon remained in the tub of ice cream.

"Aren't you-?"

"Nope."

"But you haven't even put a dent in it…" Ves stared at the ice cream. She realized she had contributed the most to making it disappear.

"I'm full." Vernon shrugged again.

"…You sure?"

"Yes."

"You want me to… finish this off? I mean, it's already starting to melt…"

"Sure."

\-----

It felt good to finally be able to walk through the forest alone, without any dhoines looking for him. Iorveth climbed up a tree, grateful for his precious hands as he pulled himself up a branch. He decided to take a break, sitting on said branch as he leaned on the trunk. Iorveth absentmindedly whistled as he breathed in fresh air.

Iorveth glanced at a spot of blue in the green forest, then looked away as he got out his recorder. His eyes went wide, and he did a double-take. Just a few hundred feet away was Iorveth's very own human, accompanied by his second-in-command.

"…I'm just saying, maybe you two should work out this whole 'soulmate' thing."

"Temeria comes before-"

"Your heart, yeah I know." Ves ran a hand through her hair. "But come on! He's your literal soulmate!"

"We can't be together." Vernon insisted.

"Yes! You! Can!" Ves emphasized each syllable with a hard poke to Vernon's shoulder. "You can make it work! All you have to do is say you're sorry!"

"I didn't get to where I am by apologizing for my actions."

A loud smack resounded through the air. Iorveth had nocked his bow before he even realized what he was doing.

"Pride gets you nowhere! If you want to mend your relationship with Iorveth before it's too late, you need to apologize to him!"

"I can't have a relationship with him!" Vernon gradually raised his voice. "He's my worst enemy!" Vernon huffed and stormed off before Ves could retort.

Iorveth lowered his bow, finding no strength to hold it up anymore. He unnocked it and slid his arrow back into the quiver and slumped back onto the trunk. His heart broke for the second time, but he couldn't even figure out why. Vernon hated him and he knew it. 

Iorveth curled up and choked back his tears, realizing in the back of his mind that he didn't want to be Vernon's enemy. He wanted to be his lover, his best friend, to hold him and never let go. He wanted Vernon to be his soulmate.

\-----

Mahorela paced back and forth in front of her scrying bowl. This contract was already going ass-up on her, and it hasn't even been a full day. Aside from the accidental easvesdropping on Iorveth's part, everything was going swimmingly for the lovebirds. 

Mahorela turned back to the cell Frida was housed in, expecting to suddenly come up with a solution from glaring at her. When no such idea was inspired, Mahorela groaned and turned her back on Frida.

"There has to be some way to stall them…" Mahorela muttered. She sat at her workstation and began absentmindedly tinkering with a spell.

Black wisps formed from Mahorela's fingertips as she played with her magic, forming into an abstract shape. The shape elongated and grew defined as Mahorela molded it into a wolf. Then, Mahorela smirked.

"Seems I found a loophole…"


	30. Chapter 30

Ves was in a foul mood as she trudged through the forest. No matter how hard she tried, Vernon was dead set on keeping his stubborn pride and staying away from Iorveth. If he kept this up, Ves would have no choice but to mash their faces together until they kissed and made up.

"Selena! Where are you?" Ves called out into the silent forest. She heard no answer. "I swear she was hanging out somewhere around here…"

Ves ignored the bad feeling in her gut and walked forward. The only sounds she could hear were her footsteps, and her own breathing. She pushed a tree branch out of the way and stepped over a small log.

The forest was deathly silent.

"Selena?" Ves shouted again. "You okay? Selena!"

A scream erupted through the air. Ves took off bolting towards the noise, disregarding the branches that flogged her skin. She soared through the air as she leapt over logs, and came face-to-face with a pitch-black wolf.

The wolf snarled, baring its teeth. Ves stopped in her tracks. The wolf was glaring at her with eyes the color of blood, with black where white should have been. Ves drew her sword immediately, shifting into a battle stance. She and the wolf stared each other down, waiting for the first move.

Ves swung her sword around. The wolf growled and pounced, Ves dodging by a hair. She took the opportunity to slash at it, cutting through one limb. Both wolf and leg fell to the ground, creating a puddle of black blood. Ves took one look at it and plunged her sword through its neck. The wolf gave one last pitiful howl before falling limp and disintegrating into a pile of dust, leaving behind its leg. Ves pocketed the leg, getting the feeling she would need it.

 _"Ves?! You ok?!"_ Blagos shouted through their bond.

"I'm fine! There was a demon wolf thing, and it attacked me! And there might be more!" Ves verbally responded as she ran to where she heard Selena.

_"I'm coming, just hang tight!"_

Ves didn't bother responding. She kept going until she heard the sounds of fighting, then she sprinted even harder. She raised her sword and reflexively stabbed a wolf, pausing only to extract her sword. Ves turned and found Selena literally beating off wolves with a broom.

"Ves! Thank gods you're here! Help me kill these things!" Selena swung her broom around and audibly broke one of said beast's legs.

Ves didn't hesitate to jump into battle. She charged at a wolf, holding her sword up like a lance, and attempted to skewer it. Key word attempted. The sword shattered on impact, breaking into several pieces. The wolf barely spared her a glance before deciding she wasn't worth it and attacked Selena.

Selena gave a cowardly shriek. She instinctively raised her broom and let the wolf's jaw get caught on it. She kicked behind her, stunning another. Ves abandoned her sword in favor of manhandling the wolf off Selena's broom.

"The legs! They're their weakpoint!" Selena shouted.

Ves grabbed the wolf's leg and yanked. Hard. The wolf gave out an ear piercing cry as flesh was torn off its leg and let go of the broom. Ves twisted the leg off, forcing the wolf to fall to the ground. It twitched once, twice, then stilled completely.

Selena brought her broom around to smack the wolf behind her. However, she missed, throwing herself off-balance. The wolf sank its teeth into her leg and clamped down, drawing forth a scream. Ves left her wolf in favor of helping Selena. She took the wolf's jaws in her hands and pried them apart. 

Arrows flew from the trees into the wolf's head. The wolf snarled through Selena's leg and fought against Ves. More and more arrows riddled its body until one, by happen stance, pierced its leg. The wolf finally let go and gave a dying howl before falling down. All too suddenly, the forest was quiet.

Selena breathed hard and fast as she sat down. Ves crouched and examined her leg, disregarding the footsteps behind her. Selena's leg held several punctures and lacerations, all black around the edges. Blood lazily seeped from her leg, even as Ves worked to stop the bleeding.

"What happened?" Blagos asked, bow drawn and ready to shoot.

"Demon wolves attacked. Guessing Mahorela sent them." Selena groaned. "That's bad. Really bad."

"Who's Mahorela?" Blagos and Ves asked at the same time.

"She's this… I made the deal with her. Long story short, she doesn't want Roche and Iorveth together. She's powerful. Very powerful."

"Are they in danger?" Ves asked. "The boys, I mean."

"OH SHIT!" Selena stood up, then immediately sat back down. "Yes, yes they could be!"

"Shit!"

"Vernon!"

"Can you walk?" Blagos inquired, eyeing Selena's leg.

"Don't mind me, just go to them!" Blagos commanded, pushing Ves away. "Now!"

"You can't even walk!" Ves argued.

"GO!!!" Selena pointed away. "If they die, I'm dead, along with my friends!"

Blagos took a few steps back, then ran away. Ves, coincedentally, ran off in the same direction as her. Selena watched until they disappeared into the forest, then she tore a strip off her jacket.

\-----

Iorveth twirled and stabbed one of the wolves. His blades shone in the sunlight, creating a desperate whirlwind as he fought off the demon wolves. He refused to acknowledge the exhaustion creeping into his bones as he fought for his life. A gash in his side bled as Iorveth exerted himself.

A wolf reached him and bit hard into his arm, spilling dimeritum into his system. Iorveth groaned and sliced its throat with his free arm. That only served to both annoy the wolf, and give the others a shot at him. They dogpiled him, literally and metaphorically, giving him no chance to avoid it. He hit the ground and had the wind knocked out of him.

Iorveth gasped in a pitiful attempt to regain his breath. The wolves casually laid across his face, smothering him. And if Iorveth's situation couldn't get worse, the awkward angle at which his arms were pinned meant that he couldn't even free them, much less fight against the wolves.

As unconsciousness took over, the last thing Iorveth thought about was the Scoia'Tael, and his friends.

\-----

"Shit!" Ves swore as she killed the last wolf.

"What?" Blagos looked around with a drawn bow.

Ves ran over to Iorveth's side, checking his pulse. "Blagos, come here."

Blagos unnocked her bow and saw Ves, then Iorveth. She immediately went over to them. "Will he be okay?"

"Yeah, but he needs medical attention." Ves informed Blagos as she pondered her location. "Scoia'Tael base is farther than the Blue Stripes, right?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"It's settled. We're taking him to the Blue Stripes." Ves slung Iorveth's arm over her shoulder.

"That seems like a bad idea…" Blagos thought aloud as she helped Ves pick Iorveth up.

"The sooner he gets medical attention, the sooner he'll be back on his feet." Ves explained plainly. "Besides, we need to check on Vernon anyway."

"…I guess that's fair." Blagos grudgingly agreed. "But if I get shanked, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough." Ves verbally shrugged.


	31. Chapter 31

Iorveth dreamed of a person.

He dreamed of Vernon, by his side. They cuddled as Vernon cried and laid kisses all over his face.

When Iorveth woke up, he found Vernon, sleeping in a chair by his side.

Iorveth's eyes took in Vernon's form. He seemed… troubled. The makeup he used for his stubble was smudged, and his hands were dirty with something brown. Iorveth could tell Vernon hadn't eaten much lately, if at all. Looking around, Iorveth realized he was in the Blue Stripes medical area. 

That wasn't good.

Iorveth attempted to get up, and immediately his injuries decided to rage war with him. Iorveth let his head fall back onto the pillow and clutched at his side. Gods, everything hurt!

"Iorveth!" Vernon's face popped into view. If Iorveth didn't know better, he would have thought he was worried. "It's alright, you're alright, remember to breathe."

Iorveth hadn't realized he was screaming. He bit his lip and grabbed the nearest object as he forced himself to breathe through his nose. Slowly, the pain subsided, and Iorveth felt like he could move without his entire body burning up. Vernon ran his fingers through Iorveth's hair, soothing him.

"There you go…" Vernon gave a sigh of relief.

It was then Iorveth realized he was holding Vernon's hand in a death grip. He yanked his hand away. "What do you want, dhoine?"

"I…" Vernon paused. "I don't want anything."

"Then why am I here?" Iorveth glared at Vernon and crossed his arms.

"Ves brought you here. You were injured, and apparently we were closer." Vernon explained. "How do you feel, by the way?"

"I'm currently being harrassed by some bloede dhoine, so…"

"Oh, for the love of…" Vernon pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled. "I meant physically."

"Everything hurts and I feel like I'm dying."

"Oh… do you want a doctor?"

"No!" Iorveth flat-out refused. "If it weren't for… whatever the fuck kind of poison this is, I would have already gotten up and left!" Iorveth cried out in pain when his wounds burned once again.

Vernon stayed by Iorveth's side, taking his hand once again. He rubbed Iorveth's shoulder as he kept a watchful eye over him. Iorveth writhed on the bed, even banging his head back and forth in agony. He screamed, and flailed his limbs about, almost scratching Vernon's face.

"Look at me, look at me." Vernon cupped Iorveth's face. "It'll pass."

Iorveth shot out and hugged Vernon. He yanked him closer and hugged him tight as he forced himself to breathe. Vernon shifted from his rather awkward position, leaning over so far in his chair he was about to fall, to getting on the bed and laying next to Iorveth. As the pain subsided, Iorveth loosened his grip into a relaxed hold.

"Feel better now?"

"Yeah, yeah." Iorveth panted as he adjusted his hug. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"You tell me." Vernon rested his head on Iorveth's shoulder.

A comfortable silence followed soon after. Iorveth took off Vernon's chaperon and twirled and untwirled his hair around his fingers. Vernon sighed and nuzzled into the crook of Iorveth's neck. Iorveth hummed happily. He rubbed Vernon's back, finding comfort in such an action.

"You woke up screaming during the night. Multiple times, in fact." Vernon mentioned. "The only thing that could calm you down was my touch."

"Please don't tell me you did anything…" Iorveth groaned.

"All I did was hold your hand."

"Thank fuck." Iorveth let out a sigh of relief. "Not that I'm happy we held hands, just that… you… didn't do anything."

Vernon said nothing. He simply shifted and settled into a more comfortable position.

\-----

Iorveth swat away the offending hand. He turned his head into Vernon's hair, refusing to wake up. Someone cursed, and all of a sudden a chunk of ice was pressed into his face.

"EEK!" Iorveth shrieked. Vernon was up in an instant, knife in hand. "Fucking… agh!"

"…Oh, it's you." Vernon sheathed his knife. "Blagos, right?"

"Yes. The medic wanted me to wake Iorveth up." Blagos explained.

"For what?" Iorveth asked, keeping his hand on Vernon's arm.

"For a medical examination."

"Oh… where are they?"

"Uh, in the back. They'll be here shortly."

"Thanks. You can go now." Iorveth dismissed Blagos with a wave of his hand. He watched as she left them. When she had disappeared, Iorveth turned to Vernon and hid his face in his collar.

"Ior-"

"Shut up." Iorveth snapped as he aggressively cuddled into Vernon.

Vernon decided to just accept it and match Iorveth. He held Iorveth's waist and pulled him closer. He laid his chin on the top of his head, delighting in how Iorveth… Vernon did not finish that thought. He did not let himself entertain thoughts of how he and Iorveth could be together. Vernon sighed and combed his fingers through Iorveth's hair.

\-----

Frida took a deep breath and stood up. Her knees wobbled, and nearly buckled on her, but she remained standing. She took a tentative step forward, then another, then another. Frida smirked. So the "security measures" forced on her were wearing off.

Frida took a look through the bars. Mahorela had carelessly put Frida's cell where she could see her workstation. Frida had felt like laughing at the time, in spite of Mahorela's own cackling. And now… Now Frida could take advantage of it.

Frida steeled herself and stuck her hands through the bars. The world spun as she penetrated the wards held in place, but Frida held steady, careful not to touch the bars. She forced power from the surrounding area into her, even as the wards threw out the Force from her body. As soon as Frida drew in enough Force to cast a spell, she whispered the word "aard" and knocked over a few bottles on Mahorela's desk.

Frida stumbled back and fell flat on her ass. Now it would take more time for Mahorela to create her abominations. Frida crawled back into her cot and flopped down, falling asleep instantly.


	32. Chapter 32

"Well," The medic let go of Iorveth's arm. "It seems you are recovering at a more accelerated rate."

"Thank fuck." Iorveth breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's not all. It appears that Commander Roche's prescence is correlated with the recovery process."

"…Really?" Vernon asked, shifting in his seat.

"Yes." After some thought, the medic added, "I would like to remind you that correlation is not causation, so keep that in mind."

"Oh, okay." Iorveth nodded. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Then you're dismissed." Vernon called off the medic with a wave of his hand. After they had left, he turned to Iorveth. "Well, would you look at that. I might have helped heal you."

Iorveth rolled onto his uninjured side, facing away from Vernon. "Yep…"

"You… sound sad."

"Fuck off."

"…What did I do?"

Iorveth chose to ignore him. He crossed his arms and frowned, stubbornness and pride persuading him to be a bitch.

"…Oh. Yeah, um…" Vernon puffed his cheeks and clasped his hands together. "I bet you're going to get another nice scar. It's, uh…"

"Vernon. Just say what you want."

"Oh, um. The medic said that cuddling helped you, right?"

"Something like that." Despite himself, Iorveth couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"What if we, um," Vernon wrung his hands. "Cuddled? Again?"

"…Okay."

"It would- Wait, you…?"

"Yes." Iorveth looked over his shoulder. "Unless you're being a fucking coward for no reason." Iorveth's voice lifted up as though he was asking a question, but in reality he was giving a silent command.

"Then scoot over, I don't want my arm falling asleep again." Vernon told him as he moved to the bed.

"Pushy." Iorveth rolled his eyes, but made room for Vernon on the tiny bed anyway.

Once they could get comfortable, they relaxed and gazed at each other. Both found beauty and love in the other's face, but neither said anything. Vernon tentatively moved his hand to Iorveth's belly and rubbed small, soothing circles, mindful of the bandages. Iorveth sighed happily as Vernon's almost-too-warm hand eased the pain he felt.

"How's your period, by the way?" Iorveth ventured, remembering Vernon's pain.

"Better. It was worse yesterday, but now it's better."

"Mm." Iorveth ducked his head under Vernon's chin. The scent of smoke and clean cotton kissed his nose as he smiled and nuzzled Vernon's neck.

When Vernon embraced Iorveth back, warm, fuzzy feelings spread throughout the both of them. Butterflies fluttered in Vernon's belly, and sparks danced across Iorveth's skin. Iorveth took Vernon's hand and simply… held it, like a lover would.

"I love you." Iorveth whispered into Vernon's neck. "I love you, I love you."

"What?"

"Nothing." Iorveth said normally. "Just… do you want to play gwent?"

"Don't have any cards." Vernon verbally shrugged.

"Damn." Iorveth swore without heat. "Dice?"

"Don't play that anymore. Someone drew a knife on me one too many times because of that game."

"Well, shit. Those are the only two games I play."

"…Wanna play I Spy?"

"Okay." Iorveth nodded. "You start."

"I spy…" Vernon looked around the room. "Something red."

"The bandages?" Iorveth guessed.

"No."

"My mask bandanna thing?"

"Yes. Your turn."

Iorveth glanced around the room, settling his eye on his subject. "I spy something sharp."

"The scapels." Vernon groaned. "They're the only sharp thing in the room."

"No." Iorveth denied. "Try again."

"Uh…" Vernon cursed under his breath as he strained his eyes to see what Iorveh saw. "I give up. What is it?"

"The medic over there." Iorveth pointed to said medic, who was currently occupied with rolling up clean bandages.

"Oh." Vernon laughed. "Wordplay. I fucking suck at that."

"Autism?"

"Yep." Vernon confirmed, still laughing. "Okay, okay, my turn. I spy… something… cute."

"The medic." Iorveth guessed immediately.

"No."

"Uh, one of the blankets?"

"No."

"There isn't a single cute thing in your entire camp! Unless…" Iorveth smirked. "It's Temeria you're thinking of!"

"Temeria is near and dear to my heart, but it's not what I'm thinking of." Vernon ran a hand over his suddenly warm cheeks.

"Are you… blushing?" Iorveth leaned a bit into Vernon's face.

"Wha- No!" Vernon blushed harder and covered his face with his hands. "That's just my natural complexion!"

"You're blushing! You're blushing!" Iorveth laughed, prying Vernon's hands away from his face. Lo and behold, his face was a ruddy red.

"No I'm not!" Vernon wailed, turning his head away. However, the action just showed off how red his entire face was becoming.

"You're so fucking adorable! I just wanna…" Iorveth let go of one of Vernon's wrists and booped him on the nose. "Boop!"

"…You think I'm adorable?"

"Of course you are! You look like a tomato!"

"Oh fuck…" Vernon covered his face with his now free hand. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You're the one who was blushing at the thought of Temeria."

"…What makes you think I was blushing because of Temeria?"

Iorveth stared at him for a little bit. "Because you blushed after you said Temeria."

"Wha… No, no. I was blushing because… because of the cutie I was thinking of."

Iorveth was confused for a moment, then it dawned on him that they were playing I Spy earlier. "Oh yeah, what is it, anyway?"

"…You know what, forget it." Vernon blushed harder than Iorveth thought possible.

"I give up, tell me."

"No." Vernon's voice grew quiet.

"Tell me!"

"No." Vernon whimpered.

"I promise I won't judge."

Vernon curled up into a ball and hid his face behind his chaperon.

"It can't be that bad."

"…It is."

"Lemme guess - is it me?"

Vernon froze. Apparently Iorveth had hit the nail on the head.

"Well, no one's called me cute before. I kind of like it." Iorveth warmed up a little at that.

"…You're blushing."

"What?" Iorveth touched his cheeks, feeling how hot they were. "Oh. Ha ha. I guess I am." Iorveth chuckled a little.


	33. Chapter 33

Between the warm embrace and the surprisingly soft blanket, Vernon was almost lulled to sleep. However, he forced himself to stay awake, not wanting to miss a moment of seeing Iorveth at peace. The hard scowl usually present on his face was gone, replaced by a small smile as deep breaths escaped him. Vernon pulled Iorveth closer, settling him into the crook of his neck.

Vernon couldn't help a tiny gasp as Iorveth nuzzled himself even further into his neck. Once he had settled in, he even started to purr! Vernon could almost squeal from all the cuteness!

"Vernon…"

"Hm?"

"Shut up."

Vernon clamped his mouth shut immediately. Was he actually squealing? No, he was way too masculine for that. Far too manly to fall victim to such a cute elf.

No sooner than Vernon had thought that that Iorveth decided to torture Vernon by planting a tiny kiss on his collarbone. Shy, fluttering feelings suddenly made themselves known in Vernon's belly, and his skin flushed from head to toe. Vernon stamped down on these feelings and closed his eyes, because for some odd reason, he thought if he couldn't see anything, then he wouldn't exist anymore.

"So warm…" Iorveth muttered as he snuggled into Vernon even harder.

"No I'm not."

"Just like a soft little puppy…"

"No I'm not."

"I just want to hug you all day."

"No you don't."

"Actually, yes I do." Iorveth sassed.

"…Fuck." Vernon turned away and buried his face into the pillow. When Iorveth wrapped an arm around his waist, Vernon suddenly remembered all of his pressing responsibilities and got out of bed. "Sorry, I just remembered all of my pressing responsibilities. I need to go."

"Noooo…"

"Jeez, you weren't this cuddly when you were a kitten…" Vernon muttered. "Frankly, I would love to stay, but, uh, Ihavetoleavebye!" Vernon ran out as fast as he could, leaving a very confused Iorveth in his wake.

"What…?" Iorveth mumbled. His eye turned downcast as he laid back down on the bed.

\-----

Vernon frantically dug through his papers, looking for something, anything, to occupy his mind. Instead, all he found was completed papers and… one of Meow- Iorveth's toys… Vernon tentatively reached over and picked up the stick, dragging the string and feathers attached to it on the table.

Fuck, it seemed like so long ago that a cute, cuddly, bitey cat was lunging at the toy in order to catch the feathers. Vernon bounced said feathers around, finding little comfort in the motion. He rested his head on his fist as he contemplated the feather-on-a-stick. Iorveth absolutely loved to play with it. In fact, it was his favorite toy. He would bite the stick end and bring it to Vernon, then set it down in front of him. If he didn't immediately pick it up and start playing, Iorveth would bite him until he gave in. Vernon chuckled at the memory. Iorveth disrupted so much of his work, but at least he was cute about it.

Vernon put down the stick and got up. He found himself pacing around the room, for some reason. Coincedentally, to him at least, his thoughts kept on drifting to Iorveth. Iorveth could have easily killed him in his cat form, as he's proven several times over, but he didn't. The worst he's ever done was claw the shit out of his hands without actually maiming him.

"Miss you, you lil shit…" Vernon muttered under his breath.

Despite his words, Vernon truly did love his cat, but he didn't love Iorveth. At least, he didn't think he did. It was arguable by the time he fond out Meowveth's true identity. Either way, Meowveth was gone. Iorveth would never forgive him. The threat he made was still fresh in Vernon's mind, repeating itself every few seconds. And every time he thought that maybe, possibly, he might still have a chance to be forgiven, self doubt, loneliness, and loathing for everything creeped into the edges of his mind, forcing him back to where he started.

Vernon sighed and fell onto his bed, rubbing his entire face with his hands. Pulling his hands back, he found them to have slight drops of water on them. When Vernon brought his fingertips to his eyes, he found them to be wet. It dawned on him that he was crying. He was crying over Iorveth's threat, over how Vernon hurt him. But most of all, he was crying because Iorveth would never love him now.

All of a sudden, the floodgates busted open. Vernon burst into tears, acompanied by quiet sobs that seemed to be as loud as the entire Nilfgaardian army banging on all drums in the world at once. Thoughts invaded his mind, thoughts both unwelcome and cutting as they churned and curdled and rotted. 

_You're stupid you're useless you'll never be good enough no one will love you and you'll die alone you don't deserve friends you don't deserve love you don't deserve your rank you should starve yourself no one cares about you you're a cheap whore you're a filthy piece of shit Iorveth will always hate you YOU SHOULD JUST GIVE UP YOU'RE A WHORE NO ONE LIKES YOU YOU DON'T DESERVE TO EAT IORVETH WILL NEVER LOVE YOU YOU'RE USELESS!!!_

Vernon buried his face in the pillow and cried his heart out. He cried for what seemed like an eternity, for that was how much emotion he hid from everyone, even himself. When there were no more tears that could physically be cried, Vernon stifled his breath and fell asleep, hiccuping and sobbing during what should have been a blissful moment in his life.

\-----

When Vernon opened his eyes, he was disappointed to see he had survived the night. Instead of peace, he found a shaking motion forcing him out of slumber.

"Sir, are you awake?" Someone asked. It took Vernon a minute to identify him as one of his soldiers.

"Yeah, yeah, what?" Vernon slurred, rubbing grit and any possible tears from his eyes.

"It's Ves. She's injured."

"What?!" Vernon was out of bed in an instant.

"Wolves got to her, I a'feared. She's in the-"

Vernon ran past the soldier and out the room.

"…Medical area."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK if I'll continue this, I'm losing my will to write this, and no one seems to be reading this. Maybe I will, if it turns out I got re-inspired again, but I don't really know if I will.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like people actually read this, so I guess I'll keep working on this.

In Ves' defense, she was just looking out for the others.

She had gone out alone to search for any more demon wolves that might have been in the area, when said wolves ambushed her. And nearly killed her. And now she was stuck in the hospital. Oh well. At least she had Iorveth to talk to.

"To be honest, I've always liked you best. You were always the… fiery one?" Iorveth paused. "Yes, I think I'm using that right. Anyway, since you're so defiant, that's what I liked about you. Plus, you must've given Vernon quite a few gray hairs, what with your adamant refusal to button your shirts." Iorveth chuckled, wincing when that aggravated his wound.

"I have sensitive boobs." Ves defended.

"You have sensitive-" Iorveth bit his lip and shook visibly.

"Oh, shut it." Ves crossed her arms and glared at Iorveth.

"Sensi-" Iorveth forcibly clamped his mouth shut.

"Hey, fuck you!" Ves grabbed a shoe and threw it at Iorveth.

"Sensitive boobs!" Iorveth loudly declared, pointing at Ves. "Seeeeensitive booooobs!"

Ves threw everything within arm's reach at Iorveth. Not one to take things standing down, Iorveth retaliated by throwing everything back at her and then some. Before long, they were chucking literal furniture at each other.

"Boobs!" Iorveth laughed as he tossed a chair at Ves.

"Shut up!" Ves threw a small table at Iorveth.

At that point, the dozing medic finally took notice of the fight. She had to get in between them in order to stop them, and even then she had to spritz them both with a spray bottle filled with water in order to get them to stop.

"For fuck's sake, can't you stop attacking people for one minute?!" The medic directed at Iorveth. "At this rate, you're gonna rip your stitches in no time! And you," She pointed to Ves. "I don't know what you did, but come on! A goddamn table?!"

"He threw a chair at me!"

"Alright, I'll give you that." The medic conceded. "But fucking… Agh! You two are insufferable! When Vernon gets word of this-"

Vernon burst in, out of breath. As soon as he saw Ves, he ran over to her side. Ves smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. Vernon let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Ves was okay. She is safe. She is recovering.

"Choking… me…" Ves thumped Vernon on the back.

Vernon immediately released his hold on her. "What happened?"

"Demon wolves."

"…You need to take a few steps back."

Ves took a deep breath. "You see… there's these demon wolves that attacked me. They have a deep black coat, with red eyes. I dunno much about them, besides that their legs are the most vulnerable part of their bodies, and that the rest of their bodies are invulnerable. Anyway, I was out looking for them, because they might be looking to kill us, when I was attacked by them. Obviously, I lost the fight, and woke up here."

"You said they might be looking to kill us?" Vernon raised an eyebrow.

"…Iiiii should start from the beginning." Ves paused to think. "Basically, a girl I met the other day, Selena, don't know if you know her-" Ves froze as foreign thoughts entered her mind, creeping in for the first time since she awoke.

 _"Ves! Can you hear me?"_ Blagos' voice rang through crystal clear.

"Ves?" Vernon furrowed his brows. "You… you didn't finish your sentence."

"Shh!" Ves held up one finger. Turning her head to the side, she thought, _"Loud and clear."_

_"Thank the gods. You had me worried for a second."_

"Ves?"

"What?"

_"I mean, you weren't responding to me at all. I couldn't even get you to twitch."_

"Yeah, yeah, everyone thought I was dead for a minute." Ves shurgged.

"I… didn't say anything." Vernon grew even more confused.

 _"Hang on."_ Ves turned to Vernon again. "What?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Vernon held up two fingers.

"Eighteen."

"No concussion, then." Vernon sighed in relief. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." Ves replied. _"Where are you?"_

_"Uh, I'm in the forest right now, near the Scoia'Tael camp. I have to tell the other what happened to Iorveth. Hope they understand."_

_"What about Selena?"_

_"Selena?"_ A pause. _"Oh shit!"_

_"What?"_

_"I completely fucking forgot about her!"_ Blagos audibly groaned. _"I'll set up a search party ASAP. I really hope nothing happened to her."_

"You and me both…" Ves mumbled under her breath.

"Ves? Is… is something wrong?"

"Yeah." Ves nodded. "Listen, Selena might be in danger."

"Who's Selena?" Iorveth sleepily groaned, finally joining the conversation.

"Girl with pink hair earlier."

"She's fucking crazy…"

Ves rolled her eyes. "Whatever you think of her, she could be in danger. We need to find her as soon as possible."

"What makes you think she's in danger?" Vernon asked.

"You know those wolves I mentioned earlier? Well, Selena, Blagos, and I were travelling together when we were attacked by the wolves. We got separated, and now these wolves could have gotten to her!"

"Ves-"

"We need to send out a search party for her! Now!"

"Ves, look at me." Vernon pointed to his eyes. "You're not in your right mind. You're likely suffering from a head injury and blood loss. We can't just send out a search party just because you said so, especially when-."

"I'm not fucking crazy! Selena-"

"Is likely safe and sound." Vernon said just to reassure her. "Right now, you need to focus on your own recovery."

"I've recovered plenty!" To prove her point, Ves sat up. "I could probably go look for her myself!"

"Vernon's right. You need rest." Iorveth added.

"I threw a table at you earlier!"

"What?!"

"Happened right before you came in." Iorveth explained quickly to Vernon. "Anyway, you have several open wounds. At least wait for them to close."

"Ugh! Fuck you!" Ves swore in defeat.

"Tell you what," Vernon laid a hand on Ves' shoulder. "I'll tell my soldiers to keep an eye out for her. What does she look like?"

"Brown hair, blue eyes, wearing a black vest. She can use magic."

"I'll relay the information right away." Vernon pat Ves as he stood up. "Don't worry, she's likely sitting in a bar with a drink in hand. She'll be safe."


End file.
